Chelsea to battle United for Mesut Ozil

Chelsea to battle United for Mesut Ozil

Chelsea have reportedly locked horns with Manchester United and Barcelona in the race to sign Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil.

The German international has less than 12 months remaining on his current Arsenal deal, and with no suggestion he will sign a new deal, he is welcome to discuss a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs in January.

That would give Barcelona an advantage, but with Ozil previously stating that he would like to stay in the Premier League, perhaps United and Chelsea will prove to be his next destination if he chooses to leave Arsenal.

The 29-year-old will of course be available as a free agent at the end of the season if he fails to agree a new deal, but Manchester United and Chelsea could be interested at trying to sign the German at a cut-price in the January transfer window, with reports of around £20-30m being able to do the job.

Manchester United were the favourites to sign the midfielder despite Barcelona’s interest, but SportBild now claim that Chelsea are a ‘hot candidate’ to sign the star, as Conte looks to add to his squad in January.

The Ozil situation remains unclear, but things look set to get a little bit more interesting over the next few weeks.