De Ligt has reached an impasse in contract talks with Juventus as a result of his revised

wage demands and he is willing to push for a move if the Bianconeri do not significantly increase their current offer.

Chelsea were alerted to the 22-year-old’s potential availability and view the opportunity to

sign an established, top-level central defender as too good to pass up, therefore prioritising negotiations over their long-term pursuit of Kounde.

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De Ligt’s agent, Rafaela Pimenta, is among a number of representatives who Chelsea’s new ownership group – led by Todd Boehly – have proactively engaged in talks with since completing their takeover in May, and her client’s name has been discussed.

However, given De Ligt still has two years left to run on his current deal in Turin, the ball is firmly in Juventus’ court.

Manager Max Allegri is intent on keeping the player, but  the Serie A giants could be swayed by an offer of around €100m (£86m) to part with the Netherlands international.

Chelsea have attempted to offset that fee by offering the pick of a number of players in part-

exchange, including Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Kepa Arrizabalaga.

However, Juve have not yet been enticed by any of those names and will instead hold out for a cash-only deal if they are to be forced to sell.

Chelsea are now preparing to make a firm bid, and it should not be ruled out that they eventually stump up something close to that asking price.

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