Juventus beat out Chelsea in race to sign Bayer Leverkusen’s Kerim Alajbegovic with €40m offer | OneFootball

Florian Plettenberg is currently reporting that Juventus have beaten Chelsea in the race to acquire Bayer Leverkusen attacker Kerim Alajbegovic. Fabrizio Romano, on the other hands, counters that the deal isn’t quite done yet. Alajbegovic must give the final go-ahead before heading to the Serie A club.

One assumes that Alajbegovic will sanction the transfer. 

Chelsea’s pursuit of Kerim Alajbegovic

Chelsea’s interest in Alajbegovic arrived at the end of a remarkable year for a player Bayer Leverkusen had initially allowed to leave Germany for just €2 million. The Köln native joined RB Salzburg in July 2025, with die Werkself protecting themselves by inserting a buyback clause into the agreement.

Leverkusen already appeared determined to exercise that option by November. Alajbegović had scored six goals and supplied one assist in his first 21 competitive appearances for Salzburg. His estimated market value—non-existent at the time of his departure from Germany—had risen to €5 million.

Early reports suggested that Leverkusen could bring the winger back for approximately €5 million to €6 million. Later information placed the figure closer to €8 million. Either amount represented a modest investment in a player whose development in Austria and rapid progress with the Bosnia and Herzegovina senior national team had transformed his standing.

At that stage, Alajbegovic was regarded as a potential pillar of Leverkusen’s rebuild. His ability to operate on both wings or drift into more centralized attacking areas offered precisely the type of positional flexibility the Bundesliga club generally value.

The situation changed dramatically following Alajbegovic’s continued rise over the course of the 2025/26 campaign. By the summer, Leverkusen had reacquired the youngster but were already prepared to sell him again before he made his senior debut for the club.

Chelsea emerged as the leading candidate for Alajbegović’s signature on July 23. Reports from Bosnia and Herzegovina and England suggested that the Premier League club had moved ahead of their competitors. Kicker also lent credence to those claims and reported that the 18-year-old had submitted a transfer request.

Leverkusen’s willingness to listen to offers remained noteworthy. The club had previously viewed Alajbegović as an important part of their future, while injury concerns involving Eliesse Ben Seghir might ordinarily have encouraged them to retain another versatile attacker.

Neither factor altered the club’s position. Die Werkself recognized that Alajbegovic’s estimated market value had already climbed to €22 million and that his performances for Salzburg and Bosnia and Herzegovina had created an opportunity to complete an extraordinarily lucrative transfer operation.

Matters appeared capable of progressing quickly. Chelsea possessed the financial resources to meet Leverkusen’s demands, while Alajbegović’s transfer request suggested that the player was prepared to leave without attempting to establish himself at the BayArena.

One day later, Chelsea submitted an opening offer containing a guaranteed fee exceeding €30 million. Leverkusen hoped to secure a total package worth approximately €40 million once performance-related bonuses were included.

The offer placed Chelsea firmly ahead of the competition. Atalanta had already seen an opening bid rejected, while Napoli and Juventus also remained interested in the teenager.

There nevertheless remained important work to complete. Chelsea had not agreed personal terms with Alajbegović, nor had they opened concrete negotiations with his representatives. The player continued training individually in Bosnia and Herzegovina and remained scheduled to report for Leverkusen’s preseason preparations.

Chelsea’s pursuit therefore advanced rapidly at club level without ever reaching the decisive stage with the player. That gap ultimately left room for Juventus to intervene.

The Italian record champions subsequently reached a full agreement with Leverkusen on an initial €33 million transfer fee. Performance-related bonuses could raise the overall package to €40 million—the figure the Bundesliga club had sought throughout negotiations.

Chelsea’s approach had helped establish the parameters of the deal and demonstrated that Leverkusen’s ambitious valuation was attainable. Juventus nevertheless moved ahead of the Premier League club and secured the agreement with die Werkself.

For Leverkusen, the outcome completes an exceptional piece of asset management. The club sold Alajbegović for approximately €2 million, reacquired him through a comparatively inexpensive buyback clause and now stand to receive as much as €40 million without the youngster making a senior appearance for them.

Chelsea, meanwhile, come away empty-handed despite briefly appearing to lead the race. Their failure to advance swiftly enough from an agreement with Leverkusen to personal terms with Alajbegović allowed Juventus to turn sustained interest into a near-completed transfer.

GGFN | Peter Weis