The last one month or so suggested that Bayern Munich may not sign a central defender this summer despite the departure of Niklas Sule. The German defender completed a move to Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer. However, Hasan Salihamidzic refused to rule out a move for a center-back before the end of the transfer window.
It does look like things have picked up in Bayern’s pursuit of a quality defender this week. According to Sky Sports in Germany, Bayern is interested in signing Juventus defender Matthijs De Ligt. The Dutch defender is expected to leave Turin this summer. Sky insists that De Ligt is open to joining Die Roten. However, the transfer fee will be a big hurdle for Rekordmeister as Juventus is looking for something between €60-80 million.
The report from Sky Sports in Germany was confirmed by various other publications such as SportBild and Kicker. Goal in Italy has also reported Die Roten’s interest in De Ligt, but Chelsea remains favourites to sign the Dutch international.
The London-based club will be the biggest competition for Rekordmeister in their pursuit of signing De Ligt. Chelsea will be open to meeting the transfer demands of Juventus to complete this move, and talks have reportedly taken place between both clubs.
Bayern has enjoyed a good relationship with Juventus in the last few years as they negotiated numerous deals. The German Champions will be hoping to leverage De Ligt’s interest in a move to Bavaria and their relationship with Juventus to conclude this deal. The negotiations are likely to be complex since De Ligt’s current deal at Juventus expires in 2024.
The German Champions were linked with a move for De Ligt after his breakthrough season at Ajax in 2019. There were no negotiations with Ajax, and he eventually joined Juventus. At the age of 22, he is considered one of the best defenders in Europe.
Apart from being a quality defender, De Ligt also has leadership qualities. He was skipper of the Ajax team in 2019 that reached the semi-final of the Champions League. Julian Nagelsmann wants a leader-type figure in the back four, so it is not surprising to see Bayern targeting the signing of De Ligt.
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Die Roten is unlikely to meet the transfer demands of Juventus for De Ligt. It remains to be seen how much the German club is willing to pay for the Dutch defender. The coming weeks will be crucial for De Ligt’s future as Chelsea and Bayern fight it out for his signature.