(THE GUARDIAN) - Matthijs de Ligt has accepted Juventus' offer of a five-year contract worth €24 million (S$37 million) a year, of which a third will be a performance-related bonus, but Paris Saint-Germain have still not given up on signing the Ajax defender.

The 19-year-old's agent, Mino Raiola, has been discussing a potential deal for his client for several weeks now and Wednesday's (June 26) news represents a significant breakthrough in negotiations for the Italian Serie A club.

Juventus have agreed to a release clause of around £134 million for the Netherlands international. The offer would give the centre-back a basic salary of around £270,000 a week with add-ons increasing his possible earnings to £415,000 a week.

Juventus will now start official talks with Ajax in the hope that a deal of around £70 million will clinch a deal.

PSG, however, have still not given up on winning the race for a player who captained Ajax to the Champions League semi-finals last season and who has already won 17 caps for the Netherlands.

The PSG sporting director, Leonardo, is still in contact with the Dutch club as well as Raiola, trying to convince them to sell to the Ligue 1 club instead.

Juventus have installed the former Chelsea boss, Maurizio Sarri, as their new manager, replacing Massimiliano Allegri, who won five consecutive Serie A titles in five years at the club.