Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso will hope to see his side build on their 6-4 win over Western Sydney Wanderers when they face rivals Tottenham Hotspur in Sydney on Saturday.
Joao Pedro netted a ten-minute hat-trick as the Blues defeated their Australian opponents on Tuesday morning, with Alonso giving several youngsters opportunities to impress.
Ahead of their first game of the new Premier League season, Alonso’s side will face Spurs, Juventus, AC Milan and Johor Darul Ta’zim.
In the meantime, though, it appears that the London side are hoping to tie up a deal for a talented young striker from the German top flight.
As per TEAMtalk, the Blues are currently trying to persuade Bayer Leverkusen forward Kerim Alajbegovic to join the club.
The 18-year-old striker joined Leverkusen’s youth system as a youngster but was sold to Austrian outfit Red Bull Salzburg in 2025.
Delap is one of the current Chelsea strikers that could be sold this summer (Photo: MatchDay Images Limited/Alamy)
He netted 13 times in 44 games for Salzburg in all competitions last year, and Leverkusen paid around £6 million to re-sign him earlier this summer.
The Bosnian is yet to make a single appearance for Leverkusen at senior level, but the report claims that the Bundesliga side are willing to sell him this summer for a fee of around £34.3 million.
Chelsea are believed to be willing to pay that amount, and the London side are therefore now in talks with the player’s representatives as they attempt to persuade him to move to Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have already been very active in the transfer market this summer, with Morgan Rogers, Geovany Quenda and Marco Palestra all arriving in SW6.
If Alajbegovic were to join, it looks likely that one of Alonso’s current crop of strikers would depart the club.