Chelsea face competition from London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham to sign Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng on a free transfer next summer, according to Sport Bild [via Daily Mail].
The 32-year-old is in the final year of his contract in Bavaria and his time at the Allianz Arena could be coming to an end as the Champions League holders decided not to offer him a new deal.
Boateng has been at Bayern for nine years after joining from Manchester City back in 2011, making 333 appearances for the club.
The potential availability of such an experienced operator who is capable of playing anywhere across the backline has unsurprisingly sparked plenty of interest, with the Blues seemingly throwing their hat into the ring.
Capped 76 times by Germany, Boateng has a World Cup winner’s medal, two Champions League winner’s medals and eight Bundesliga titles during an illustrious career [TransferMarkt].
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After the early success of Thiago Silva, who also arrived at Stamford Bridge on a free transfer from a European giant in Paris Saint-Germain, Frank Lampard could replicate the model and add Boateng to his squad in the near future.
Whilst Lampard is primarily building a squad packed with talented young players, as Alan Hansen once said, ‘You can’t win anything with kids’, and the summer signing of a 36-year-old Silva was a nod to that by the Blues manager.
Chelsea already have plenty of German international representation in their ranks with Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, and fellow central defender Antonio Rudiger.
Boateng still seems has plenty to offer at the pinnacle of the game, as shown by his early-season involvement in an all-conquering Bayern side.
