Matthijs de Ligt in action for Bayern Munich. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
The Netherlands and Bayern Munich centre-back Matthijs de Ligt has denied that he was close to making a move to Chelsea in the summer. The Blues were linked with the defender, but the 23-year-old joined Bayern instead.
Juventus were approached by the west London club for the defender as then coach Thomas Tuchel looked to reinforce his defence. However, no move could materialise with the Dutchman moving the German Champions in a deal worth £68 million.
Now, the 23-year-old centre-back has denied that he was close to making a switch to west London and that he always had his sights set on joining the Bundesliga club. (h/t Football. London)
“I had my sights on Bayern. It wasn’t close with me but maybe [it was between] the clubs. Honestly, I didn’t speak to them this summer. There were a lot of rumours that didn’t come from me.”
Chelsea did add quite a few defensive reinforcements in the summer. Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana were brought in to strengthen our back-line, but that has not gone according to plan.
We have one of the worst defence in the league, conceding 17 in 14 league games so far. All the new signings have not been able to live up to the expectations expected from them during their arrival.
Fofana is currently out injured, while Koulibaly and Cucurella have struggled for form. Thiago Silva has been our best centre-back so far this season, with the Brazilian showing his class every week.
Another defender who has been excellent at the back is Trevoh Chalobah. The 23-year-old never gets the hype he deserves but has been phenomenal for the club at the back, along with Silva.
De Ligt is a regular at the Bavarian club and is one of the brightest prospects in Europe. While it would have been beneficial for us to have him in our team, that does not mean we give up interest in him.
The Dutch centre-back is just 23 now and is yet to reach his prime age of 26-28. The Blues will be wise to keep tabs on the player and maybe a future approach could see the player make a switch to west London.
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