Juventus’ plan to keep Matthijs de Ligt without paying big money | OneFootball

Chelsea are among the major European teams being linked with Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt, and as we get closed to the end of the player’s contract in the summer of 2024, those numbers will only grow.

The Old Lady are in a bit of a pickle – they want to keep the Dutchman who they spent so much money on not long ago, but they can’t afford to inflate their wage bill any further.

Football Italia have translated claims from Italy about a potential solution. To keep the vultures from circling around their prize asset as he heads into the final two seasons of his contract, Juve are going to offer a simple one year extension to the 22 year old.

That keeps his value high, scares away the other teams trying to persuade him to join, and buys them another 12 months to sort out their wage bill so they can lock him in on another long term deal.