According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt is Barcelona‘s No.1 target for the summer, but the Catalans don’t have a ‘special’ release clause to sign the Dutchman.
De Ligt joined Juventus from Ajax in an €85m move in 2019. Barcelona were one of the clubs interested in signing him at that time, but the player’s agent Mino Raiola explained that De Ligt picked Juventus as he could ‘study and improve’ defensively in Itay.
However, the player’s representative has recently claimed that his client is ‘ready for a new step’ beyond Juventus, suggesting he could leave Turin in the summer.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, De Ligt remains on Barcelona’s radars and is their No.1 target for the summer.
It remains to be seen how the Catalans can afford his signing given their financial crisis, but Barcelona are determined to secure De Ligt’s signature in July, the pink paper claims.
De Ligt will have a €125m release clause included in his contract from next summer and Gazzetta deny that Barcelona can activate a lower clause in the region of €75m to sign the Dutchman.