Pep Guardiola looks set to hand Thomas Tuchel a huge blow this summer amid Chelsea's eagerness to lure Raheem Sterling and Nathan Ake from the Etihad. The Manchester City duo have been heavily linked with move to Stamford Bridge, though so have Jules Kounde, Kalidou Koulibaly and Matthijs de Ligt.
The latter more so than others recently; football.london understand that the west Londoners have held talks with Juventus over the defender but the Blues are yet to table a bid. Bayern Munich have since entered the frame to sign the 22-year-old and, while a move to the German giants looks increasingly likely, City have waved their bidding paddle.
According to Italian outlet Tuttomercato, the Premier League champions are prepared to offer the Old Lady £76million for the Netherlands international - of which could be funded by Chelsea's bid for Ake. football.london understand that the Blues are in advanced talks with the City defender, with fee and personal terms being discussed.
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It's also understood that Guardiola's side want around £50million for the 27-year-old and a replacement is in the pipeline - potentially, De Ligt. In January, Chelsea were 'willing to go crazy' in their efforts to sign the Juventus defender, according to Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
But, not known by Tuchel at the time, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen sought futures away from Stamford Bridge. Chelsea then followed up their interest a month later with the hope of laying the groundwork for a transfer in the summer, but the Blues boss' mission to bolster his defence was quickly stopped in its tracks following the UK Government's decision to sanction Roman Abramovich.
The licence issued to Chelsea by the government allowed the club to keep playing. But, it meant that the west Londoners could not sign or sell players, or enter into contract talks with existing players on their books, which meant the Blues' pursuit of De Ligt came to a halt.
Now, the consortium led by Todd Boehly are expected to 'push for A-list signings' to mark a new era at Stamford Bridge, according to the MailOnline. And, De Ligt certainly constitutes an 'A-list' arrival, however fans continue to be divided regarding the potential signing of Ake.
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