Bayern Munich director Hasan Salihamidzic will pay Juventus a visit to negotiate the acquisition of Matthijs De Ligt early this week. The German side has an agreement in principle with the player. However, they have not met the Bianconeri’s lofty requests so far. And neither have Chelsea.
As per Alfredo Pedullà, the defender is keen on transferring to Bavaria. The Blues were the first to pursue him, but his agents have tight relations with the Bundesliga powerhouse. The suitors will not activate his €120M release clause, and they tendered around €70M plus add-ons.
Juventus have rebuffed the bids, but they could accept if Bayern Munich raised their bid for De Ligt to €80M plus sizeable add-ons. According to Bild, they proposed a five-year contract with €10M wages to the player.
The Old Lady have actively started looking for a replacement. Napoli stonewalled their approach for Kalidou Koulibaly and announced to have offered him a mammoth extension. The Bianconeri will make an attempt for Bremer, even though Inter are clearly in the lead, Gazzetta dello Sport adds. There have been new contacts with Arsenal for Gabriel, Pedullà informs.
Our Take on De Ligt, Bayern Munich and Juventus
Unless the center-back changes his tone and opens to an extension, it is just a matter of time until the Bianconeri sell him to the highest bidders. On the other hand, it remains to be seen whether they will be comfortable doing so without having his substitute in hand, which is not the case currently. Massimiliano Allegri would want somebody with Serie A experience, but the options are just two, and getting them is very challenging. They will be probably be forced to widen their scope. There is no shortage of elite defenders with €40/50M price tags around Europe, though.