Matthijs de Ligt: Chelsea to be snubbed by fresh Juventus contract
Jacque Talbot
- 24 Jun 2022 20:27 BST
- 3 min read
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Matthijs de Ligt will likely remain at Juventus despite extensive transfer interest from Chelsea, FootballTransfers understands.
Sources in Italy suggest that he will be offered a new contract soon and both sides are willing to get a deal wrapped up, with his current contract running out in 2024.
The Dutchman is seen as a huge part of the Old Lady’s plans going forward and only an unprecedented fee from the Blues would see them dislodge the 22-year-old defender. De Ligt has a release clause of €125 million, which is set to rise to €140m in June 2023.
The Blues would have to get somewhere near his release fee to see him leave the Italian giants.
Chelsea, who have seen Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger depart from their defence on free transfers this summer, are likely to step up their pursuit of Sevilla defender Jules Kounde in response to this stance.
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Inter prioritising Lukaku over Raspadori
Furthermore FootballTransfers understands that Inter were given first priority over Sassuolo's Giacomo Raspadori after the Nerovedi’s club’s director Giovanni Carnevali and Nerauzzurri CEO Giuseppe Marotta met and discussed a proposed move.
But given the current roster of attackers at Inter's disposal, the deal has stalled. With Romelu Lukaku set to arrive from Chelsea on loan, that is more weight to the idea that Raspadori will not complete a move.
His representatives are in search of giving the 22-year-old as much game-time as possible. West Ham remain keen but the Italian striker is just one of a number of targets the London side have in mind.
Furthermore, the high price set by Sassuolo - about €30m for an attacker who scored 10 Serie A goals in 37 outings last season- makes his sale difficult, but they are willing to listen to offers for both the attacker and Newcastle-linked Gianluca Scamacca this window.
Atalanta transfer news
Meanwhile, Atalanta may have exercised the release clause for Mehiral Demiral from Juventus for €20m last week, but they are ready to listen to offers during this window for the Turkish defender.
Luis Muriel will be another who they would be happy to move on for the right price, with his contract up in Bergamo next year. The club missed out on Champions League and have a number of stars coming to the end of their deals.
