Chelsea have reportedly joined rivals Arsenal in the race to sign AS Roma winger Cengiz Under, who is said to have a [$68,439,447) £54 million price tag on his head.
Report from The Guardian claimed the Blues are the latest high profile club to have emerged as a surprise suitor of the Turkish international.
Cengiz Under has burst into the spotlight ever since he joined AS Roma in the summer of 2017. Over the last 18 months or so, the player has gone from strength to strength, and is now one of the most pivotal figures at Stadio Olimpico.
Under has been in brilliant form so this season, with five goals and six assists in 20 appearances in all outings to his name and would only flourish more playing in a team that possess skilled playmakers.
The Gunners interest in Under is understandable, with their manager Unai Emery lacks a quality wingers in his squad. The Spanish tactician, in fact, had to rely on using Alex Iwobi Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Danny Welbeck and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to play in wide areas for the team. That said, Under as emerged as a viable targe for Arsenal to pursue, although they might face strong competition from Chelsea.
Chelsea too, are in the market for attacking reinforcements, with a winger being quite high on their priority. That is because, Willian and Pedro are both on the wrong side of 30, while Eden Hazard continues to be linked with Real Madrid, which is forcing the Blues into the market for a wide man.
But, while the interest from Arsenal and Chelsea in winger does make sense, his £54 million valuation could swing matters in favour of the Blues, with the Gunners known to be operating on a limited budget in the transfer market.
Either way, Under is seemingly ripe for the taking, with the player currently being one of the lowest earners at AS Roma. One area where Arsenal would not have a problem is bumping his wages, although it will be interesting to see if they are willing to pay the premium for him, something that Chelsea might not have qualms about.
The race to sign Cengiz Under is intensifying, with Chelsea the latest club emerging in his pursuit. With the likes of Arsenal and Bayern Munich also chasing after him, it remains to be seen if AS Roma can manage to hold on to their star player, or if the 21-year-old moves on to greener pastures.