Chelsea are reportedly set for a transfer battle with Barcelona as both clubs have spotted Bayer Leverkusen talent Atakan Akkaynak and are keen to make a move for him.
The 18-year-old has been attracting plenty of interest it seems from around Europe, with the central midfielder impressing for Leverkusen’s youth sides.
According to The Express, the German U19 international has been scouted by Chelsea already with the Premier League champions said to be planning a January swoop for him.
Further, the report adds that Barcelona have been keeping tabs on him for over a year, and they’re not the only other European giant as it’s suggested that Akkaynak has been watched by many others clubs over the past 12 months even though he hasn’t yet made his debut for the senior side.
It seems like it could be a straight-forward signing in that Leverkusen won’t be able to compete financially with the likes of Chelsea and Barca, and so with the youngster’s contract expiring in 2019, they may decide to cash in while they can.
However, he’ll face a difficult decision as to which club to join. It would appear as though opportunities for youngsters at Chelsea are slim given the number of players out on loan or sold in recent times. It might not be much easier at Barca either given the quality in the senior squad, and so Akkaynak has a choice to make over which club he believes will be the best fit for his career moving forward, if he does indeed decide to leave Leverkusen at this stage.