Chelsea are set to beat Manchester United and Manchester City to Benjamin Henrichs as they reportedly prepare a £31 million summer bid for the German.
According to The Sun, Chelsea are looking to speed up their pursuit of Benjamin Henrichs in order to pip Manchester United and Manchester City to the German’s signature in the summer. The Blues are ready to cough up £31 million when the transfer window opens to land the Bayer Leverkusen man.
Benjamin Henrichs has made quite a name for himself in Bundesliga after making his senior debut for Bayer Leverkusen in the 2015-16 season. The current campaign though, has thrust him further into the limelight, with the player a regular now while also making his senior bow for Germany.
Henrichs has always generated interest in his services – interest that has piqued since the summer of 2017. The likes of Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea have been linked with the player while Manchester City have also been rumoured to be interested in the 21-year-old.
Right now though, the Premier League trio are the ones that are heading the chase for the Bayer Leverkusen starlet. Manchester United’s interest in Henrichs is not that big of a surprise. Antonio Valencia needs a deputy within the ranks, something that Matteo Darmian has failed to become under Jose Mourinho.
Henrichs, at 21, will be the perfect solution. The German can arrive at Old Trafford and be the deputy for a season as Valencia is slowly phased out of the starting eleven.
Manchester City’s interest emanates from the fact that Danilo has not been as much of a success as Kyle Walker’s deputy and Pep Guardiola is looking to make Henrichs the fall-back option at right-back for the season(s) ahead.
At Chelsea, there should be a change of formation again, with Antonio Conte likely to depart in the summer. The incoming manager might want to reinstate a four-man backline and Cesar Azpilicueta could still prefer the central role, having excelled in the position for around two seasons now.
At 21, Henrichs would bring a tang of youth to what is an ageing backline and is likely to have no problems going up and down the right flank with vigour. Henrichs would also be a better option defensively at right-back, compared to the likes of Victor Moses, considering the increase in burden of defensive duties when shifting from right wing-back to right-back.
Earlier reports already iterated that, despite the potential downturn in revenue due to their inability to qualify for the Champions League, Roman Abramovich is ready to back the new Chelsea manager in the market. This report iterates that the Blues are ready to cough up £31 million – the touted price tag – to land the 21-year-old.
