2 years ago
Chelsea transfer blow as Matthijs de Ligt lands in Munich and agent CONFIRMS Bayern transfer after talks with Juventus
MATTHIJS DE LIGT has LANDED in Germany to complete his move to Bayern Munich, shortly after his agent confirmed the imminent transfer. The 22-year-old Juventus centre-back was linked with a move to Chelsea after talks over a new deal with the Italian giants broke down. 3 Matthijs De Ligt's agent confirmed he is set to complete a big-money move from Juventus to BayernCredit: Getty 3 The Dutchman landed in Munich on Monday ahead of his transfer to BayernCredit: Avalon.red 3 De Ligt has chosen the German champions over ChelseaCredit: Avalon.red However, Bayern always appeared to be the frontrunners in their pursuit of the Dutch defender - with Juventus keen to receive around £68million. And now De Ligt's representative Rafaela Pimenta - who also handles new Juve midfielder Paul Pogba - has revealed that a move to Bayern is closing in - with pictures also emerging of the defender arriving in Germany. As reported by Fabrizio Romano, Pimenta said: "De Ligt deal will be completed soon with Bayern. "We’ve to say thanks to Juve as they’ve been great with Matthijs and Pogba." Chelsea are keen to bring in new centre-backs following the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen. Thomas Tuchel has already secured Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly for £34million. But they will be keen to add another high-level name to the heart of their back line. And as they prepare to miss out on De Ligt, attention may turn to Sevilla man Jules Kounde. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST NEW CUSTOMER SIGN UP DEALS The Frenchman reached an agreement in principle with Chelsea last summer, before talks between the two clubs broke down. Now he looks set to finally be on the move, with the Blues one of several clubs thought to be interested. Barcelona, PSG and Newcastle have all been linked with the young centre-back - who is valued at around £57m. Another defender Chelsea are thought to be looking at is PSG's Presnel Kimpembe, while Nathan Ake will now stay at Man City after they blocked his move.
Matthijs De Ligt Joining Bayern Munich Highlights His And Juventus’ Lack Of Progress
Matthijs de Ligt has ended a three-year stay at Juventus. DeFodi Images via Getty Images Back in 2019, as he looked to accelerate his development and compete for European football’s top honours, Matthijs de Ligt moved to one of the continent’s biggest and most successful clubs. Three years later, as he leaves Juventus for Bayern Munich, many would argue he is simply doing the same thing again. Indeed, the departure of the Netherlands international is a succinct and clear message: a talented young player no longer believes he can realise his full potential in Turin. That is a damning indictment of the wastefulness Juve have shown, something which perhaps stems all the way back to the 2017 Champions League Final. It is a spell which has included some poor decisions over the Head Coach, some woeful moves on the transfer market, and ultimately a string of dire performances on the pitch. Having been demolished 4-1 by Real Madrid in Cardiff, any casual observer could’ve told you that the team was in desperate need of midfield reinforcements, the Sami Khedira-Miralem Pjanic duo simply being overrun by a Spanish side that boasted both superior numbers and more talent in that area of the field. Khedira was clearly in decline and Claudio Marchisio was struggling with injuries, while Blaise Matuidi, Stefano Sturaro and Rodrigo Bentancur were never likely to be mistaken for their predecessors Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal. Yet instead of making moves to improve that department, Juve instead spent €46 million ($46.82m) on Douglas Costa and €40 million ($40.71m) on Federico Bernardeschi.
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