Chelsea are set to complete the £117m signing of Morgan Rogers, and Maxence Lacroix is not far away with the World Cup over. But Chelsea are in for another player, namely Kerim Alajbegovic.
A move for Rogers came out of the blue on Saturday night, with the Blues pencilling in a medical for the England star today. Should all go to plan, Chelsea fans can expect an announcement early this week.
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A deal for Lacroix is a bit further away. Chelsea are locked in negotiations with the Blues told £55m will tempt Palace into a sale. Palace are using Tottenham’s signing of Jan Paul van Hecke as a yardstick.
Chelsea are unlikely to stop there. A new left-back is expected, with three alternatives added to the list as talks for Pep Chavarria drag on. But in recent days, a new name has emerged, Kerim Alajbegovic.
READ MORE: The surprise winner in Chelsea’s move for Morgan Rogers, if Xabi Alonso keeps him
Alajbegovic, 18, is hardly a household name on these shores, but over in Germany, there is plenty of excitement. The Bosnia star had a hand in 17 goals for Salzburg while on loan from Leverkusen last term.
Kerim Alajbegovic before Bosnia and Herzegovina match
Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images
Now back at Leverkusen, Xabi Alonso’s former side are open to a sale. According to reports, Chelsea want to sign the teenager and because of that, he has put a move to Atalanta on hold at the eleventh hour.
Now, TMW delivers an update. It claims that Alajbegovic has agreed to join Atalanta but there is an issue for the Serie A club, and that it comes from the Premier League. Leverkusen want a fee of £25m for him.
But Atalanta are unwilling to go that high. Even worse for the Serie A side, an unnamed Premier League side are said to be willing to meet Leverkusen’s price tag. Amid the earlier reports, it has to be Chelsea.
What has been said about Alajbegovic’s huge potential?
If he was not a household name, Alajbegovic threw himself into the public sphere by becoming the youngest player to score from outside of the penalty area at the World Cup, beating Kylian Mbappe.
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This is a player that can play anywhere behind the front three, shoot from distance, but create too: “His talent is immense, as is his ambition and his will to win. We’re counting on him. Kerim has everything.
“He needs to establish himself as a Werkself player in the coming years,” Leverkusen’s director of football Kim Falkenburg said recently. A player with huge promise, but Chelsea’s pursuit hinges on Atalanta.
Given he has said yes to Atalanta, Alajbegovic’s move to Chelsea only materialises if Atalanta fail to pay the £25m fee Leverkusen want. With Chelsea willing to pay it, the Blues stand a real chance.
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