Chelsea have joined Manchester United in the race to sign Dayot Upamecano from RB Leipzig, according to reports.
The central defender is widely expected to leave the Red Bull Arena at the end of the season.
The 22-year-old signed a new contract at Leipzig last summer that contains a £40m release clause.
Several major European clubs hope to secure his services ahead of next term, with Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid all keeping tabs on the situation.
Those four giants are joined in the race by Liverpool and Manchester United, while Chelsea are the latest club to add their name to the list.
Leipzig would be able to receive a larger transfer fee if they sold the defender in the January transfer window.
However, the Bundesliga side are determined to keep hold of Upamecano as they target success domestically and in the Champions League.
According to the Daily Mail, Chelsea are prepared to wait until the summer before launching an attempt to sign the highly-rated Frenchman.
Thiago Silva and Kurt Zouma have established themselves as Frank Lampard’s first-choice centre-back pairing.
However, Silva is 36 years old and there are doubts over the futures of Antonio Rudiger, Fikayo Tomori and Andreas Christensen.
Chelsea signed Timo Werner from Leipzig last summer and hope that could give them an advantage in the battle for Upamecano.
The Blues would almost certainly need to qualify for the Champions League to stand a chance of landing a player who could be at the centre of a significant tug of war this summer.
Meanwhile, Manchester United could move for Upamecano after deciding to target a new centre-back ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, write the Manchester Evening News.
Leipzig knocked United out of the Champions League with a 3-2 victory at the Red Bull Arena in December.
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