Chelsea have been dealt a blow in their bid to sign Matthijs de Ligt with Bayern Munich set to table a big offer for the Juventus defender.
Bayern have opened negotiations over a deal to sign De Ligt, who is open to an exit from Juventus after three seasons in Turin.
The Netherlands international has two years remaining on his current contract and is unlikely to sign a new deal, with Goal reporting that Bayern are preparing an offer of £76m for the Dutchman.
Juventus are open to his sale with the club fearful of losing De Ligt for free in 2024, with Chelsea having made the centre-back a leading target this summer.
Thomas Tuchel is targeting replacements for Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen in west London, though De Ligt’s preference is understood to be a move to the Bundesliga champions.
De ligt has a release clause in his contract of around £103m, though Juventus are prepared to accept a return on their initial investment having signed the defender from Ajax in a £69m deal in 2019.
De Ligt has since made 117 appearances in all competitions for Juventus and won the Serie A title during the 2019/20 campaign.
