Chelsea could be forced to drop their longstanding Matthijs de Ligt transfer plans with the defender looking likely to stay with Juventus beyond the next summer.
The Holland international had emerged as a target for the Blues camp to keep tabs on heading into the January transfer window with Thomas Tuchel faced with the prospects of parting ways with Antonio Rudiger.
Rudiger’s stay at Stamford Bridge is due to come to an end in the summer of 2022 and with contract talks leading nowhere, Real Madrid are backed to be leading the race to land his signature on a free transfer.
Tuchel’s plans of bringing in the former Ajax centre-back De Ligt, however, have suffered a setback too with reports from The Daily Express suggesting Juventus are not keen on sanctioning the Dutchman’s sale in light of recent events.
Juventus’ long-term target Alessio Romagnoli is poised to pen a new deal with AC Milan and with a move away from San Siro now seeming doubtful, De Ligt remains in line to stay put despite Chelsea’s strong interest in his services.
