Matthijs de Ligt is reportedly pushing for a mega-money transfer to Chelsea in a desperate bid to leave Juventus.
The 22-year-old wants to join the Blues and become new owner Todd Boehly 's first major signing, but his £102 million release clause has proven a stumbling block. However, De Ligt's desire to depart Turin after three seasons in Serie A is driving his valuation down, according to the Telegraph.
Chelsea are also willing to offer Timo Werner or Christian Pulisic as part of the deal - both players who each cost the club more than £45m. Mirror Football understands that the west Londoners had an opening bid worth £35m plus Werner rejected, although are willing to include Pulisic in their next offer as an alternative sweater.
And in a boost to the Blues' chances of signing the Netherlands international, Juventus have made it clear that they are not willing to hold onto a player who is not 100 per cent committed. "It's impossible to keep players when they want to leave the club," CEO Maurizio Arrivaben declared. "But all the three parties in the negotiations have to be satisfied."
While Boehly's first recruit since completing his £4.25 billion takeover could be Leeds United winger Raphinha, manager Thomas Tuchel is keen to rebuild his defence following the departures of trusted centre-backs Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen upon their expiry of their contracts.
Manchester City defender Nathan Ake has been tipped for a move, but the Premier League champions would demand at least £50m to part ways. Instead, another Dutchman looks more likely in the form of De Ligt, who left Ajax for the Italian giants in 2019. New Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag 's former captain in Amsterdam, the youngster garnered acclaimed for his leadership and goalscoring ability, as they reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.
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Talks are progressing well over a potential move, with De Ligt's most recent noises sounding promising. "There are ongoing conversations between me and Juventus," the 2018 Golden Boy winner stated while on international duty with Holland in June. "Right now I am focused on how I perform on the pitch.
"Once the right moment arrives I will decide to extend or to look further. I look at the sporting project. Ending fourth in a row for two years in a row is not good enough, Juventus knows this too. So being Juventus, we have to make steps. I'm a Juventus player so I'm focused on that at the moment."
