Croat is contracted to the Allianz Arena until June 2016.
Chelsea have now emerged as the new favourites ahead of arch-rivals Arsenal to sign prolific Bayern Munich front man Mario Mandzukic next season, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
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Initially, reports in the British press had stated that it was the north London club who were leading the chase for the Croatia international’s signature when the summer transfer window does finally reopen again for business at the start of July.
However, it has now emerged that in actual fact it is the west London club who are the favourites to sign the 27-year-0ld after representatives from the Blues recently met with the player’s agent in the capital to discuss a potential move to Stamford Bridge next season.
Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said of his star man’s situation at the Allianz Arena: “We want him to stay, and I remain fairly confident he will.
“But I know that many clubs throughout Europe want him, and that is not surprising. You only have to look at his scoring record to see his quality, so we will see what happens.”.
And with Poland international Robert Lewandowski on his way to Bavaria this summer, Mandzukic is now expected to sign for Chelsea in a deal worth £20m.