Chelsea look towards Juventus defender after failing to land Jules Kounde in the summer - Reports

Chelsea will turn to Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt after failing to sign Sevilla defender Jules Kounde in the summer transfer window, according to Italian outlet Calciomercato (via Football365).

Chelsea have wanted a new centre-back since the beginning of the summer transfer window. However, the Blues failed to land Kounde after Sevilla sporting director Monchi revealed that Chelsea did not match the 22-year-old defender's release clause of £68 million.

According to the aforementioned source, the European champions like De Ligt and could be willing to spend huge amounts of money to bring him to Stamford Bridge.

However, De Ligt also has a massive release clause in his Juventus contract. Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Matthijs de Ligt has a release clause of a whopping €150 million.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano said:

“Matthijs de Ligt has a release clause into his contract with Juventus. This clause is valid from next summer, so 2022, it’s a clause valid for €150m (£130m).

“So, De Ligt will be available on the market for €150m. This clause was part of the contract since he signed with Juventus, so Mino Raiola was planning for this clause as he did for Erling Haaland with Borussia Dortmund [and] he did the same for De Ligt with Juventus.”

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Chelsea could weaken Juventus' defense by signing Matthijs de Ligt

Juventus have had a great defense for a long period of time. However, the likes of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci aren't getting any younger, which leaves Matthijs de Ligt as their only young centre-back.

However, if Juventus lose the 22-year-old Dutch defender to Chelsea or some other European giants, the Bianconeri back-line could be seriously weakened. As things stand, the only young defender apart from De Ligt is Daniele Rugani, who does not get enough game time.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have been needing a centre-back for a very long time. The Blues haven't sorted out Antonio Rudiger's contract while Thiago Silva is not getting any younger, giving Thomas Tuchel more reasons to sign a new defender.

Chelsea are not shy of spending huge amounts of money on players they desperately need. The Blues spent a club-record £97.5 million on Romelu Lukaku since they wanted a proper striker to replace an unsettled Timo Werner.

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