-Ikenna Okafor
Bayern Munich are growing increasingly confident of finalising a deal to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus.
The Dutchman has been heavily linked with both Chelsea and Bayern in recent months, but following positive talks in Turin between Hasan Salihamidzic and Juventus directors on Monday, Bavaria now looks likely to be De Ligt’s destination this summer.
When leaving negotiations on Monday, Bayern director Salihamidzic, when asked about the 22-year-old, said: “We will see, I can’t say anything about Matthijs de Ligt deal. Optimism? We’re always optimistic”.
The optimism regarding a deal is justifiable, it was reported last week that, while Chelsea were interested, Bayern Munich believed they are currently De Ligt’s preferred destination, with the defender impressed by the project proposed to his representatives by sporting director Salihamidzic and head coach Julian Nagelsmann.
Speaking in a press conference yesterday, Juventus trainer, Max Allegri addressed De Ligt’s potential departure stating: “As you all know yesterday there was the meeting with Bayern, but at the moment he is a player of Juventus and he is training well “
What still may prove a sticking point in any deal is Juve’s valuation of De Ligt. Bayern are said to be unwilling to pay La Vecchia Signora’s €100m asking price – a fee that would make the former Ajax captain the most expensive defender of all time.With De Ligt more likely to move to Bayern than Chelsea, the Blues have turned their attention to SSC Napoli star Kalidou Koulibaly – and are now favourites to land the Senegalese ahead of Juve – who will need to replace De Ligt – as they look to land three central defenders this summer.
Bayern insists on De Ligt