The agent of Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt, Mino Raiola, has suggested that the Dutchman is ‘ready’ for the next step amid links with a move to Chelsea.
The centre-back has been closely associated with the Blues for some time as they aim to bolster their defensive options ahead of next season.
Questions remain over the future of Antonio Rudiger as his contract continues to tick down. He would be able to negotiate a free transfer to a foreign club as soon as next month and could potentially be joined on the way out of Stamford Bridge by the likes of Thiago Silva, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta - the trio also seeing their current deals expire at the end of the current campaign.
Should the four leave, then that would leave the Blues in dire need of defensive recruits.
One of the names to have been mentioned on numerous occasions is that of Matthijs de Ligt.
Now, his agent Raiola has handed considerable encouragement to Chelsea by suggesting that he is ‘ready for a new step’ in his career during an interview with Dutch outlet NRC.
Meanwhile, in an interview with NOS, the super agent did not rule out a switch to England.
He continued: “I think we all know which clubs to mention for Matthijs de Ligt as ‘next step’. We will see this summer.
“Premier League? It can be Barcelona too, or Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain…”
That news will of course be welcomed by Chelsea, with de Ligt having established himself as one of the most promising defenders in world football over recent years.
He played a significant role in Ajax’s run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019 and sealed a big-money move to Juventus.
De Ligt - valued at £63m by transfermarkt - has not quite managed to replicate those performances in Turin but has still managed to accumulate 94 appearances for the Italian giants.
He still has two-and-a-half years left to run on his current deal with Juventus.
Amid suggestions that he could pen a new deal with his current employers, de Ligt has insisted that his sole ambition is to win the Champions League with the club.
Do you think the Premier League should pause to deal with the latest surge in Covid cases? Have your say below
Speaking last month, the 22-year-old said: “At this moment I just focus on what I have to do on the pitch, how to help the team to improve our place in the table.
“Winning this trophy with this jersey is a dream, not just for me, but for everyone. We are improving game after game and we want to continue in this way.”
We’ve teamed up with LiveScore to invite fans to vote for their favourite results - the games which were much more than a score. Vote for the match that mattered to you here
