Chelsea have been served a major blow to their efforts in signing Matthijs de Ligt, with Bayern Munich plotting a late swoop for the Juventus defender. The 22-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge and, while there is still progress to be made by all parties, a departure from Turin looks imminent.
According to SPORT1, the Netherlands international has verbally agreed to join the Bundesliga champions and negotiations between the two clubs will begin shortly. The report adds that a deal between Juventus and Bayern will only fall through if a fee can not be agreed, with personal terms not believed to be an issue.
However, while the German giants may have been granted a verbal blessing, Chelsea are edging closer to reaching an agreement with the Old Lady for De Ligt's signature, claims CBS journalist Ben Jacobs. And, the west Londoners are said to be pushing to complete the signing, with Juventus slowly relaxing their asking price.
