Report: Chelsea offer £65m plus bonuses for Tuchel's first-choice target
Chelsea have made a new offer for Juventus centre-back Matthijs de Ligt with the Italian club hoping to reaching an agreement by next week, according to Calciomercato.
The Italian outlet claims that the negotiations between Chelsea and Juventus have reached another phase.
The Blues previously proposed a potential player-plus-cash deal, but Juventus are looking for a cash-only deal for De Ligt.
Calciomercato adds that after turning down Bianconeri’s new contract offer, it became clear that the 22-year-old would like to leave the club this summer for footballing reasons rather than money.
Thomas Tuchel has reportedly kept an eye on De Ligt in the last six months and considers him as his first-choice defensive target.
Chelsea are in pole position to sign the Netherlands international, but not the only club in the race.
Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, and even Paris Saint-Germain are all reportedly monitoring the situation.
According to the report, Chelsea have offered Juventus between €70million (£60m) and €75m (almost £65m) plus bonuses for De Ligt.
Such an offer is unlikely to satisfy Juventus, who initially insisted on asking clubs to pay the player’s €120m release clause, the report adds, but the negotiation between the two clubs continues.
An earlier report in Italy suggested Juventus expected Chelsea to agree to a deal in the region of £70-75m.
Fortunately for Chelsea, Juventus are reportedly looking to conclude the potential deal soon, perhaps to give them more time to sign a replacement.
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