Chelsea have reportedly been offered the opportunity to land Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus.
According to Goal, Juve are prepared to relinquish the defender’s services due to his eye-watering £280,000-a-week wage.
The Serie A club’s financial situation will not be winning any awards soon, so any means of cost-cutting are set to be taken.
Cutting De Ligt from the bill would certainly ease some of the strain currently weighing down the owner’s wallet.
Unfortunately, very few footballing organisations in the world could comfortably afford to match the 22-year-old’s expensive income.
Hence why Juve presented the Dutch international on a silver plater to Chelsea, a team not short of cash.
Defender dilemma
They must also be aware that the Blues are potentially on the verge of losing four influential senior centre-backs next summer.
As it stands, Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta’s contracts all expire in June 2022.
Talks between Christensen’s representatives and Chelsea have apparently been stopped for nearly two months.
Rudiger’s situation is equally uncompromising, as the two parties remain in a stand-off over salary demands.
Fail to reach a conclusion with either player soon, and the pair will be able to converse with foreign clubs on January 1st over a transfer away from Stamford Bridge.
Fans are very much still in the dark over Silva and Azpilicueta’s deals as well.
Therefore, landing De Ligt might not be such a foolish suggestion after all.
De Ligt to London?
Mino Raiola has apparently already been in contact with Chelsea over a possible deal for his expensive client.
He has already been given a decent review by Juventus cult hero, Andrea Barzagli.
“De Ligt is a modern defender who likes physical contact, has incredible potential and marked professionalism,” said Barzagli earlier this year.
Bringing the Ajax prodigy to South West London would reunite him with his former Eredivisie teammate, Hakim Ziyech.
The pair forged a fine relationship in the fires of Holland, to the extent De Ligt put Ziyech above two of the game’s greatest ever performers.
“Who do I prefer between Cristiano Ronaldo to Juve and Messi to Barcelona? Hakim Ziyech,” said the Juve star back in 2018 when addressing rumours about his future.
Maybe Ziyech could provide another assist this season by helping Chelsea sign De Ligt?