Chelsea have two secret £70million weapons in their armoury of interest to Juventus which may help them broker the Matthijs de Ligt deal amid the £103million release clause worry.
Todd Boehly and Thomas Tuchel are in the midst of planning what could be a massive transfer window for the Blues who are reportedly planning on spending upwards of £200million on new recruits this summer. Alongside the attack which will receive a significant amount of that transfer fund following the probable loan exit of Romelu Lukaku, the defence is an area of great concern following the two high-profile departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen this summer.
Whilst the Jules Kounde pursuit is currently stalling with Boehly deeming the £58m valuation to be a bit too excessive at this current moment, other options are being looked at, as per The Evening Standard, with de Ligt now coming into the question after what has happened regarding contract talks between the Dutchman and Juventus. Although initial optimism that Juve's number 4 would extend his contract and reduce his release clause at the same time in the process, this couldn't be agreed upon and now, according to Corriere dello Sport amongst others, the 22-year-old is now requesting a move to the Premier League.
READ MORE: Matthijs de Ligt hands in 'transfer request' as Chelsea battle Man Utd for Jules Kounde partner
Both Virigil van Dijk and Louis van Gaal have endorsed the former Ajax prodigy on a number of occasions in the past and despite that itself being enough to convince Chelsea to take a big-money risk this summer, they face stiff competition from Premier League rivals who have been alerted on this situation. Reports are coming out in the Italian news suggesting that both Manchester clubs are keeping an eye on developments and could both submit offers but as it currently stands, as per La Repubblica, the Blues' £60m verbal offer is the 'most concrete' offer on the table.
What also may help Boehly in these negotiations in comparison to Man United and Man City is the fact that Chelsea have two players of interest in their current roster that can be used in either a player plus cash swap deal or in separate negotiations - especially if the relationship between the two clubs was to be good.
Christian Pulisic and Timo Werner are two disgruntled attackers who aren't happy with their current role in Tuchel's squad and could leave if the right offer was to come in this summer. Both are valued at a combined £70m according to Transfermarkt, meaning these are two assets the Blues can use to their advantage to potentially afford de Ligt.
The latter of the pair's agents was spotted in Italy a couple of months ago holding talks with the Old Lady, so interest is certainly there. According to Tuttosport though, it is unlikely that either will be included in a swap deal.
Regardless, Chelsea can use these de Ligt negotiations to build a rapport with the recent Serie A strugglers and not only can they gain one of their most valuable gems in the backline, but they can also potentially generate much-needed funds from two forwards who aren't a regular in Tuchel's starting eleven.
On the contrary though, Juventus' willingness to recoup the full £103m release clause as mentioned by Gazetta dello Sport means some creativity needs to happen in these negotiations for the 22-year-old's Chelsea move to become realistic.
Chelsea fans - if Juventus were to demand at least one of Christian Pulisic or Timo Werner in a potential swap deal for Matthijs de Ligt, which one of the two would you rather was sacrificed in this situation? Leave your thoughts down below in the comments section!
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