Liverpool and Chelsea transfer target Matthijs de Ligt is set to join Bayern Munich from Juventus.
As per Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, a deal worth north of €80 million has been agreed between the two clubs.
There were no issues regarding personal terms, with de Ligt set to sign a deal which will keep him in Bavaria until 2027.
The Dutch international has had something of a difficult time in Turin since joining Juventus in 2019.
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His spell with the club has coincided with a couple of years of underperformance for the Old Lady, missing out on consecutive league titles for the first time since 2011.
For de Ligt, this summer was time for a parting of ways, and he’ll be hoping Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann will be able to bring the best out of him.
The Bundesliga’s new look centre-back partnership of up-and-coming French centre-back Dayot Upamecano alongside de Ligt will certainly excite.
Chelsea and Liverpool will be disappointed to see de Ligt opt to make the switch to Germany rather than England.
Chelsea are known to have tracked the Dutchman this summer, but have instead signed Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli.
Liverpool on the other hand didn’t need to sign a centre-back at all this summer, but the Reds are long-term admirers of Matthijs de Ligt.
The 22-year-old was heavily linked with a switch to the Reds before his move to Juventus from Ajax was completed in 2019.
Some believe he is viewed as the natural long-term successor for his compatriot Virgil Van Dijk at Anfield.
This could still be the case. With a few years of further development under his belt at Bayern, de Ligt could be very much ready to replace Van Dijk at Anfield.
Being one of the world’s coveted young centre-backs, de Ligt’s future will doubtless be up in the air again in a few years.
And Liverpool will be sniffing around.
For now though, he needs to focus on enjoying his football with Bayern, and make sure he’s starting next to Virgil Van Dijk for the Netherlands at the World Cup.
Robert Worthington