Chelsea are reportedly ‘leading the race’ for Bayer Leverkusen star Jonathan Tah in a major blow to Tottenham, who are also very interested in the defender.
Tah, 28, is due to be out of contract with Leverkusen at the end of this season and will be able to open pre-contract talks in January with non-German clubs ahead of a free transfer next summer.
The German international played a major role in Leverkusen’s title-winning 2023/24 campaign and has started all of their Bundesliga matches so far this term.
According to CaughtOffside, Chelsea are now favourites to sign Tah after ‘entering into active negotiations over a deal’ as they ‘look to beat rivals’ to his signature.
The Blues are ‘making early efforts to try to move into a strong position for Tah’, who is also attracting interest from Tottenham, Manchester United, Newcastle, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Real Madrid.
Leverkusen are keen to convince Tah to sign a contract extension before the January window opens but his agent has already said ‘he’ll join a big club’ next season.
The fact that Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso is expected to leave to join Real Madrid next season also isn’t helping the Bundesliga champion’s chances of tying Tah down to a new deal.
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Chelsea to rival Tottenham for Bundesliga colossus
The report claims that Chelsea have made Tah ‘one of their top targets’ as Enzo Maresca looks to strengthen in defence, with the manager not convinced by the likes of Benoit Badiashile and Axel Disasi.
However, Tottenham are not willing to give up in the race for Tah without a fight. As we reported on Thursday, Spurs have also opened talks with Tah’s entourage as they try to gauge his interest in a switch to North London.
Ange Postecoglou wants more competition for Cristian Romero, who has been heavily linked with Real Madrid of late, as well as Micky van de Ven and Radu Dragusin, with back-up centre-back Ben Davies well down the pecking order.
At 6ft 4in, Tah is also a dominant force in the air and would strengthen a Tottenham side that has problems with set-pieces since Postecoglou took over at the club.
With that in mind, we could see London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham go head-to-head in the race for Tah, with both clubs expected to officially open talks with him in January.
But this is a fast-moving race and other sides could also make contact with the defender’s agents ahead of the winter transfer window.
Chelsea round-up: Badiashile to Juventus? / Dewsbury-Hall could leave
Meanwhile, recent reports suggest that Chelsea could part ways with Badiashile as early as January, with Juventus considering a move for the Blues’ defender.
Chelsea paid £35million to sign Badiashile from Monaco in January 2023, but the Frenchman has struggled to establish himself as a first-team regular under Maresca.
Indeed, the 23-year-old has featured just once in the Premier League so far this season under Maresca and has mainly found himself as an unused substitute on matchdays.
Juventus are currently in the middle of a defensive crisis, with both Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal recently suffering long-term injuries.
The Turin-based outfit are looking to bolster their beleaguered defensive ranks in the new year and are interested in signing Badiashile on either a loan or permanent deal, with Chelsea ready to negotiate his exit.
In other news, a report has linked Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall with a shock move away from Stamford Bridge. It’s claimed that Chelsea have have greenlit a January exit for midfielder. Manchester United and Tottenham are interested, but Aston Villa are reportedly first to open talks.
Fabrizio Romano claimed last week that Chelsea are open to letting summer signing Dewsbury-Hall go ALREADY, putting Man Utd and Spurs on red alert.
A temporary spell away via the loan route was cited as the likeliest outcome. Man Utd and Tottenham were named as the star’s ‘most high-profile suitors.’
But according to a separate report out of Spain, Aston Villa have jumped the queue by opening talks over a loan swoop that would contain an option to buy.
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