Man City frontrunners against Chelsea in bid to sign €20m wonderkid

Manchester City are reportedly the frontrunners to beat Chelsea to highly-rated Borussia Dortmund wonderkid Mathis Albert.

The 17-year-old attacking midfielder looks like becoming more of a key player in Dortmund’s first-team this season after first making his debut last term.

It seems clear that the Bundesliga giants have a special talent on their hands, with Man City now felt to be leading the race for his signature in a potential €20m deal, according to TEAMtalk.

Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are also mentioned in the report as teams keeping an eye on Albert, so it will be interesting to see how much of a transfer battle we could have on our hands here.

For now, however, City seem to be the favourites after first showing a strong interest in the summer, even if Dortmund are keen not to let the USA international leave.

Mathis Albert transfer saga could get interesting

City may well be leading the race for Albert for the moment, but it remains to be seen how the current case against them might impact their transfer plans.

The Sky Blues were recently found guilty of the vast majority of the 115 financial charges against them, though they’re now appealing that verdict.

If it stands, however, City will likely face a huge punishment, and that might mean a transfer ban, or simply enough of a points deduction that makes relegation inevitable, which would put players off joining them.

That could allow other clubs like Chelsea back into the race for Albert’s signature, with the American teenager sure to have plenty of other options if he doesn’t end up moving to the Etihad Stadium.