Chelsea join Man Utd in race for ‘standout’ winger who’s his country’s ‘biggest talent’ | OneFootball

Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid are all tracking the progress of Red Bull Salzburg forward Kerim Alajbegovic ahead of future transfer talks, according to reports.

Sky Germany revealed recently that Chelsea could provide Manchester United with competition for the winger, and Defensa Central have followed that up by detailing Real Madrid’s interest. Scouts from all three clubs have reportedly been hugely impressed by Alajbegovic’s rise, viewing him as a player with extremely high potential.

Chelsea and United are ‘monitoring’ Alajbegovic’s situation after he established himself as a ‘breakout star’ in the Austrian Bundesliga. Madrid, meanwhile, have set their sights on both the Bosnian starlet and Nantes centre-back Tylel Tati as future signings.

Kerim Alajbegovic: The story so far

Alajbegovic is enjoying a fantastic debut season at Salzburg, having managed six goals and one assist in 21 appearances.

That includes goals in Salzburg’s last two league outings, helping them go level on points with leaders Sturm Graz.

Alajbegovic is picking up experience in the Europa League too, though he has yet to register a goal contribution in that competition so far.

transfermarkt describe the 18-year-old as a ‘standout’ player who is viewed as Bosnia’s ‘biggest talent’.

Alajbegovic has ‘excellent technique’, possessing a ‘good shot’ while also being proficient at set pieces. He is versatile, preferring to play on the left flank but with the ability to also shine as a right winger or central attacking midfielder.

Online Madrid fans tend to view Defensa Central as one of the club’s least reliable sources for transfer news, so it is unclear at this stage if their interest in Alajbegovic is actually true.

But more reliable sources have been reporting on interest from both Chelsea and United.

Our transfer correspondent, Dean Jones, recently urged United fans to ‘keep an eye’ on Alajbegovic as a target for the future. Christopher Vivell could use his connections at Red Bull to take the teenager to Old Trafford.

Where would Alajbegovic fit in at Chelsea and United?

Alajbegovic appears to be a better fit for Chelsea, as United boss Ruben Amorim plays with wing-backs rather than wingers.

Alajbegovic would either have to battle Patrick Dorgu for the left wing-back role or Matheus Cunha for the left-sided No 10 position at United.

There would be a slightly clearer path into the Chelsea first team for the youngster, though Enzo Maresca does already have options at left wing.

Chelsea invested £92m in the summer to bring in Jamie Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho, replacing Raheem Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk.