Juventus CEO Maurizio Arrivabene has dropped a major hint on the future of Matthijs de Ligt.
The defender has emerged as one of Thomas Tuchel’s key defensive targets as the Chelsea boss attempts to replace Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
While Jules Kounde remains the priority, Standard Sport understands an approach has been made for De Ligt, who has two years remaining on his deal with the Turin giants.
One of the most in-demand central defenders in Europe upon his breakthrough in the Ajax team who made it to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019, the 22-year-old moved to Italy later that summer in a deal reportedly worth up to £75m.
The Dutch international has a release clause of around £107m and, while Chelsea are not likely to go as high as that, there is a hope Juve would be willing to negotiate for a fee of £85m.
De Ligt has previously expressed frustration with the level of ambition being shown by the Serie A giants and Arrivabene appeared to confirm the player was unhappy.
“It is impossible to keep a player who wants to leave,” he told Tuttosport.
“But it is always a question of numbers, it is not that if one wants to go away you answer, ‘Please, take a seat.’
"It is difficult to keep a player, but from the negotiation table all three have to get up satisfied."
