Chelsea 'will be in negotiations' over £102m star at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea have made luring Juventus centre-half Matthijs de Ligt to Stamford Bridge ‘one of their priorities’ for the summer, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

A £4.25billion takeover led by American businessman Todd Boehly has resulted in the west Londoners entering a new era ahead of the upcoming campaign and de Ligt could be drafted in as another marquee signing after Raheem Sterling’s expected arrival from Manchester City.

Chelsea’s initial efforts to acquire de Ligt did not go to plan as they saw a £34million bid, which would have seen Christian Pulisic or Timo Werner go in the opposite direction in a high-profile player-plus-cash deal, rejected by Juventus.

However, the Blues have returned to Italy with another proposal worth close to £70million amid additional interest from Bayern Munich.

De Ligt is reportedly ‘very open’ to securing a switch to Stamford Bridge ahead of the September 1 transfer deadline, boosting head coach Thomas Tuchel’s hopes of sealing a deal.

But a switch to west London may not be a foregone conclusion because the Dutchman is clearly also keen on joining Bayern Munich as it understood he has reached a verbal agreement ahead of a potential move to the reigning Bundesliga champions.

That would come as a blow to Tuchel and Boehly, who is eager to conclude negotiations for de Ligt or Manchester City’s Nathan Ake – another defensive target – by the end of the week.

Romano believes Chelsea are set to hold further discussions with Juventus after their initial player-plus-cash proposal failed.

The transfer guru understands the 6 ft 2 de Ligt is among the west Londoners’ top targets ahead of the new season getting underway next month.

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