Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt is ‘ready for a new step’ away from the Turin giants, Mino Raiola reveals, with the super agent’s comments ‘opening the door for Chelsea to make their move’ for the Dutch international
- Matthijs de Ligt is currently into his third season at Juventus after joining in 2019
- He previously won the Golden Boy award in 2018 during his time at Ajax
- De Ligt has struggled to kick on in Italy, and the team are off the pace in Serie A
- His agent, Mino Raiola, is now claiming that de Ligt is open to a move away
- Chelsea have been linked with trying to sign the 22-year-old in recent weeks
Mino Raiola has claimed that rumoured Chelsea target Matthijs de Ligt is open to leaving Juventus, according to reports.
De Ligt arrived in Turin as a teenager for €75million (£63m) in 2019, having won the Golden Boy award the previous year and led Ajax to the Champions League semi-finals in the 2018-19 season.
During his time at Juventus, he has won Serie A and the Coppa Italia, but the side currently find themselves down in seventh place, 12 points adrift of leaders Inter Milan.
Mino Raiola represents Matthijs de Ligt, and has claimed his client is ready to leave Juventus
De Ligt has won two major trophies at Juventus, and now wants to take on a new challenge
With the Italian giants way off the pace in their domestic league, Raiola has suggested that his client wants a fresh challenge.
‘(De Ligt) is ready for a new step… he thinks that too,’ he told Dutch newspaper NRC.
This could be good news for Chelsea, who have been linked with the 22-year-old international in recent months.
The west London club have four defenders out of contract next year, with Antonio Rudiger, Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Andreas Christensen yet to put pen to paper on new deals.
Antonio Rudiger could leave Chelsea when his contract at Stamford Bridge runs out next year
If Rudiger does leave, Thomas Tuchel may look to bring in de Ligt as a potential replacement
The former two look set to depart Stamford Bridge, with a number of major European clubs tracking Rudiger, while Barcelona have moved into pole position to sign Azpilicueta.
Therefore, the Blues may need to bring in defensive reinforcements next summer, and de Ligt could be a player that they look to target following Raiola’s comments.
De Ligt still has over two-and-a-half years left on his Juventus contract, indicating that Chelsea may have to pay a substantial fee to land the centre back.