Chelsea submit opening bid for Bayer Leverkusen’s Kerim Alajbegovic | OneFootball

Chelsea have submitted an opening offer worth more than €30 million in guaranteed fees for highly-rated Bayer Leverkusen’s Kerim Alajbegovic, per Kicker.

The Blues are the latest club to enter the race for the Bosnia international, and are now keen on bringing him to Stamford Bridge.

The 19-year-old is at around €40m including performance-related add-ons, but it remains unclear whether Chelsea will match that sum.

Alajbegovic has enjoyed a rapid rise over the past year, attracting interest for his exploits.

After leaving Leverkusen’s academy for RB Salzburg, the Bundesliga club activated an €8m buy-back clause following his breakthrough campaign.

The Chelsea target is yet to make a senior competitive appearance for his club, but his stock has risen remarkably.

“His talent is immense, as is his ambition and his will to win,” said Kim Falkenberg, Leverkusen’s director of football.

This first proposal from Chelsea is believed to have strengthened their position ahead of several Serie A clubs that have also been tracking the versatile attacker.

They cannot match Chelsea’s financial prowess and will be hoping he chooses not to join the West London outfit. A deal is not yet close to completion.

Negotiations between the two clubs are progressing, but Chelsea have not yet opened concrete talks with the player’s representatives over personal terms.

Alajbegovic is currently training individually in Bosnia ahead of Leverkusen’s scheduled return for pre-season.

How does Alajbegovic fit into Xabi Alonso’s structure at Chelsea?

Alajbegovic ideally fits nicely into the 3-4-2-1 formation Alonso employed during his time at Leverkusen, where the pair worked together.

The new Chelsea boss can use him as the inside left number 10 alongside another attacking player behind Joao Pedro up top.

He will likely be behind Morgan Rogers in the pecking order but could still find game time if Alonso is really keen on developing him.

In their two pre-season friendlies so far, Chelsea have played a 4-2-3-1 shape, and Alajbegovic can also thrive as an out-and-out left winger.

It is now up to the Blues and Alonso to convince him to join the Club World Cup champions ahead of Italian clubs, where he is likely to earn more playing time.