Chelsea’s swap offer for Juventus centre-back Matthijs de Ligt was rejected in the summer with the Dutchman eventually signing for Bayern Munich.
De Ligt was rumored to be on Chelsea’s shopping list for the summer window with the west Londoners on the hunt for defensive reinforcements to bolster a depleted roster after Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen left.
The Holland international, however, rebuffed the chance to sign for the Stamford Bridge outfit with Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich emerging as the winners for his coveted signature in a deal worth around £69 million.
According to a report from the Italian news outlet CalcioMercato ( via The Daily Express), it is claimed that Chelsea were prepared to send midfield maestro N’Golo Kante in the opposite direction to Juventus and sign De Ligt in a swap transfer.
Chelsea, following the setback in signing De Ligt from Juve, secured deals for both Napoli mainstay Kalidou Koulibaly and Leicester centre-back Wesley Fofana with the latter arriving for a steep price tag in the final days of the transfer window.
