Chelsea have stepped up their interest in signing Matthijs de Ligt this summer, a source has told football.london. The Netherlands international is one of the Blues' top defensive targets as Thomas Tuchel looks to replace the departed Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
De Ligt has two years remaining on his contract at Juventus but is understood to be open to leaving the Turin-based club this summer. Chelsea are looking to pay £43million plus Timo Werner for the 22-year-old defender, who made a £77m switch to Juventus from Ajax in July 2019.
The Blues are expected to make official contact with Juventus in the coming days over a move for De Ligt. Chelsea have already spoken to Juve about a deal, but with the west Londoners' interest recently intensifying, the next conversation between the clubs is expected to be more advanced.
