Blues are now joining top-flight rivals Arsenal and Man City in the race for the wunderkind.
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Chelsea are preparing a massive £25m bid for coveted Schalke 04 midfield player Julian Draxler when the winter transfer window finally opens again for business for the year in January, according to reports in the Daily Star.
The highly talented Germany international has been attracting the attentions of a whole host of big-name clubs from across the Continent of late, with both Premier League giants Arsenal and Manchester City having been heavily linked with the player during the recent summer window.
However, so far the Bundesliga outfit have managed to ward off interest in Draxler, with general manager Horst Heldt even conforming recently that their star man would definitely not be leaving the club come the new year, but would instead remain with Schalke until the end of this season.
“Julian Draxler will be at our club this season, that is for sure,” Heldt told Kicker-Sportmagazin.
“There will be no fuss regarding him during the January window as he is committed to our club.”
But it appears as though the west London club are planning on testing Schalke’s resolve to keep hold of Draxler at the turn of the year after Blues head coach Jose Mourinho asked the club’s hierarchy to launch a big-money bid for the 20-year-old, who has continued to impress with his form for the Germans in this campaign.
Draxler has a contract with Schalke that runs until June 30 2018.