Chelsea, who entered the transfer hunt to sign Desire Doue, the wonderkid from Rennes, will now take on Tottenham.
European powerhouses Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain have also expressed interest in the 19-year-old midfield player.
Chelsea and Tottenham are set to battle it out for Rennes wonderkid Desire Doue
The 19-year-old midfielder has also attracted interest from Bayern Munich and PSG
Bayern Munich’s £30 million offer for the French youngster was immediately rejected by Rennes.
As one of Europe’s hottest prospects Rennes are seeking a deal of £52million for Doue, who will represent France at the Paris Olympics later this month.
London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham will battle it out alongside Bayern and PSG for the 2022 European U17 champion with all teams boasting European football next season.
The Frenchman is so desirable to both London rivals that they want a transaction to be finalized as soon as possible.
Doue quickly rose through the Rennes youth systems, and in January 2022 he started training with the senior team.
In 31 games in the French top flight this season, the youthful player totaled four goals and five assists. He eventually established himself in the first squad as a left winger.
And with the new Blues manager, Emilo Maresca, busy in the summer transfer market trying to restock his team for the coming campaign, this would be the ideal addition.
Renato Veiga, a defensive midfielder from FC Basel, joined Chelsea on Friday, marking the team’s most recent acquisition. The transfer is said to have cost £12 million.
He now moves to Stamford Bridge to join recruits Marc Guiu, Tosin Adarabioyo, Omari Kellyman, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Two players who are currently excelling at Euro 2024, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo, have been linked to Chelsea moves; however, no bids have been made for either player as of yet.
Another name rumored to be under consideration is Karim Adeyemi, however the Dortmund player is supposedly undecided about a move to Chelsea.
In addition, the Blues have their sights set on Manchester City legend Julian Alvarez, who turned down a four-year deal to remain with the team.