Premier League rivals Chelsea and Tottenham are interested in signing Thomas Lemar on loan from Atletico Madrid this January.
According to a report by Daily Telegraph, Chelsea and Tottenham are keen on signing Thomas Lemar in the January transfer window. The London rivals, though, face stiff competition from other clubs in Europe in the race to sign the French winger from Atletico Madrid this winter.
Lemar was widely regarded as a highly talented winger when he joined Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2018. Having been a key figure in AS Monaco’s shock Ligue 1 triumph in the 2016-17 season, the Frenchman came to be rated as one of the most promising youngsters in Europe.
However, the move to Atletico Madrid has not panned out well for Lemar, who has struggled to make his mark at the club. Things have only gone from bad to worse this term, so much so that Diego Simeone has practically billed the player as a disappointment. Lemar, though, continues to be regarded quite highly, as suggested by the interest from Chelsea and Tottenham.
Chelsea are, as per widespread reports, set to enter the transfer market in the current window following the decision to have their transfer ban cut short by CAS. Attack seems to be one of the areas that the Blues seems to be targeting this winter, with a winger being priority.
Willian is in the final year of his Chelsea contract and even though the Brazilian has stressed that he would like to continue his stint with the west Londoners, there is little progress over a renewal. Add to it the fact that Pedro has also been linked with a possible exit and the need to sign a winger makes sense
As for Tottenham, former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is desperately stretched for options on the wings. Erik Lamela is a long-term absentee, while Harry Kane’s hamstring injury means that Son Heung-min could be tasked with leading the line for Tottenham, even as AC Milan striker Krzysztof Piatek continues to be linked with a January move.
Lucas Moura, thus, remains the only other natural winger at Mourinho’s disposal, meaning signing a winger is the need of the hour. To that end, Tottenham have had their sights set on Lemar with a view to signing him in the January transfer window.
Arsenal have also been heavily linked with the 24-year-old previously. But the Gunners seem to have pulled out of the race to sign Lemar, leaving Chelsea and Tottenham as his big-name suitors, with the Blues leading their London rivals, as per the report
The Premier League duo, though, also face competition from Russian clubs in pursuit of the French international. Chelsea and Tottenham want Lemar on an initial loan deal with an option to buy him in the summer, but the stance of the Russian clubs is unknown.
The Telegraph suggest that Atletico Madrid would prefer selling Lemar and recoup the transfer fee they paid for him in the summer of 2018. However, a loan move might be the only way out for now if there is no significant interest in buying him outright. It now remains to be seen where Lemar heads off this month, with Chelsea leading Tottenham in the race to sign him for now.
