What’s the story?
Juventus vice president Pavel Nedved has been in Monaco to try and hijack Paris Saint-Germain's efforts to sign Matthijs de Ligt. Nedved was accompanied by Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici, with the pair meeting the Ajax defender’s agent, Mino Raiola, over the possibility of signing the 19-year-old, according to Italian daily Tuttosport.
In case you didn’t know…
After a spelendid 2018-19 campaign with Ajax, De Ligt has been heavily linked with leaving the Dutch giants this summer, with several top European clubs interested in him. Besides Juventus and PSG, Barcelona and Manchester United have also been credited with showing interest in the talented teenager. It was earlier reported that Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo himself asked De Ligt to join the Italian champions after the UEFA Nations League final between the Netherlands and Portugal.
The heart of the matter
According to reports in Italy, Juventus sent Nedved and Paratici to meet Raiola in Monaco as the Italian giants are desperate to land De Ligt.
At the moment, PSG are understood to be the favourites to sign the Dutch international. The French champions have reportedly proposed a five-year deal, worth around €12 million per year to De Lift. PSG are also open to matching Barcelona's €75 million offer to Ajax.
While Juventus are also willing to match the €75 million transfer fee, it is believed that the Serie A outfit's last salary offer to De Ligt is in the region of €10 million per year.
Barcelona are presently not interested in entering into a bidding war for De Ligt, who helped Ajax to the domestic title last season.
What's next?
Juventus have identified De Ligt as a possible replacement for their ageing centre-back duo of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci.