Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt has moved ahead of Jules Kounde at the top of Chelsea’s transfer priority this summer, according to reports.
Sevilla’s Kounde was heavily linked with a move to Chelsea previously, with Thomas Tuchel confirming their interest last summer.
He said: “It was clear we tried for Kounde and Saul and it was very, very late but it was a very, very smooth transfer window because I had full concentration on training and on my team.”
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However, it was recently revealed that Kounde was seen as more of a ‘club target’ under Marina Granovskaia’s role in charge of transfers.
Granovskaia has since left her role at the club as Todd Boehly was named interim sporting director, and this has had an effect on Chelsea’s transfer priority.
As reported by the Telegraph, Kounde is no longer seen as the top target in central defence.
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Instead, Chelsea are negotiating with Juventus over a potential transfer for defender de Ligt this summer.
Earlier this month, Chelsea’s initial interest in de Ligt was reported as the Blues were monitoring his situation ahead of a potential move.
However, Juventus will be looking for around €70-80 million for their centre-back, as well as the inclusion of Timo Werner in a deal.
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Nizaar Kinsella, of Goal, continued to report that de Ligt is now the Blues’ priority for central defence.
Chelsea are keen to offload players, so may offer several from the squad in a potential deal for the Dutch defender.
Furthermore, reports in Italy believe that Tuchel’s side could make contact with Juventus this week over a move.
Romeo Agresti states that ‘possible contact between tomorrow and Wednesday’ could happen.
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Chelsea are ‘pushing’ for de Ligt and ‘will try to put on the place some technical counterparts’.
It remains to be seen as to whether Juventus would accept any player other than Werner in exchange for the 22-year-old, with negotiations continuing.
Both Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger departed Chelsea on free transfers this summer.
The pair made up part of the back three in the UEFA Champions League final back in 2021 and will no doubt be difficult to replace.
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The Blues are still expected to bring in two defenders during the transfer window, with it unclear as to who else is being targeted alongside de Ligt.
Tuchel has been given full control of sporting decisions and is working closely with Boehly to rebuild his squad.
Topics: Chelsea, Chelsea Transfer News & Rumours, Matthijs De Ligt, Jules Kounde, Juventus, Sevilla, Transfers, Football
Nick Emms