Hammer blow for Man Utd, Chelsea as classy centre-back says future thoughts have ‘changed’
Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham face a battle to land defensive target Matthijs de Ligt after the Juventus star admitted things had “changed” concerning his future.
Just before Christmas the centre-back’s outspoken agent Mino Raiola said his client was looking for a transfer. The Netherlands defender had seemingly become disillusioned with life in Turin under Max Allegri.
Injuries to experienced pair Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci have given De Ligt a sense of purpose and a key role in the Bianconeri defence.
“He is ready for a new step,” Raiola said in an interview with NRC in December “He thinks that, too.”
But De Ligt, who says Juve could have done with recent arrival Dusan Vlahovic in the summer, has had a change of heart.
“I notice that the club is giving me more and more responsibility,” De Ligt told Rondo, via Football Italia.
“Now Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci are struggling with injuries, so I have even more pressure on my shoulders, but I like it. I’ve noticed that I can play an important role.
“We are still fighting on three fronts and I am really enjoying myself here.
“I notice that I learn more every week and I really like that. What Mino said was already three months ago; in that time, so much can change… At the moment, I’m just fully focused on this season.”
The former Ajax star will enter the final two years of his contract this summer. But any glimmer of hope the Premier League trio had of landing the 22-year-old seems to have evaporated.
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De Ligt has eyes on Scudetto
According to Sport Mediaset, De Ligt had taken news of Chelsea’s interest positively. While United were one of three clubs chasing the classy De Ligt with Calciomercato claiming Barcelona and Bayern Munich were the other two.
Spurs have also been mentioned as suitors with Turin old boy Fabio Paratici now heading up Spurs’ recruitment.
Juventus though are on an unbeaten 13 match run in Serie A games and are just seven points behind Napoli and Milan at the summit. And De Ligt has got his sights firmly on a title tilt.
“Inter, Milan and Napoli keep losing points and now we are only seven points behind. A miracle still has to happen, but it already looks better than a few games ago, said De Ligt.
“We lost Cristiano Ronaldo late in the summer and of course, we lost 30 goals with that. Because it was so late, we couldn’t get someone like Dusan Vlahovic back right away. We certainly missed that in the beginning.
“When I played against him [Vlahovic], I already noticed how strong and technically good he was. And what particularly appealed to me is that he is so driven to score a goal; he almost scolded team-mates when he didn’t get the ball. You need an attacker like that up front.”
READ MORE: Chelsea target has final contract offer on table as Barcelona make stance clear
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