Juventus is playing hardball with Chelsea over the sale of Matthijs de Ligt.

The Premier League club lost Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen in the last transfer window, and they need top replacements.

De Ligt has been identified as one of the players that could join them, and they are keen to add him to their squad.

Their initial offer, which included a few players, has been rejected by Juve, but the Londoners are expected to return with a better one.

Chelsea’s latest offer is worth 70m euros guaranteed and 10m euros in bonuses.

However, Il Bianconero claims Juve wants between 80-90m euros in guaranteed payments and others linked to bonuses.

They are not allowing the Blues to have it easy and they could profit from playing hardball.

This is because the report also adds that the EPL club’s manager insists De Ligt is the defender his team needs and the London club is likely to keep fighting until the end.

Juve FC Says

Selling De Ligt in this transfer window is very important because he is entering the final two years of his deal already.

By the next summer, if he doesn’t extend his contract, we will hardly make as much as 40m euros from offloading him.

He could also decide then to run down his deal and leave for nothing in 2024.