Chelsea join Liverpool in pursuit of Salzburg striker Patson Daka
By Tom Gott
Chelsea are the latest side to throw their hat in the ring for Red Bull Salzburg forward Patson Daka, who has also been heavily linked with a move to Liverpool.
The 22-year-old Zambia international, who took over from Erling Haaland when he left for Borussia Dortmund, racked up 27 goals in just 28 appearances in the Austrian league this season and has drawn countless comparisons to his former teammate.
Chelsea would ideally prefer to sign Haaland, whom they are continuing to try to seduce, but Dortmund's price tag of over £150m means such a deal is unlikely and has left the Blues considering other options.
According to Sky Deutschland, Daka has been added to the shortlist at Stamford Bridge and there is hope that the striker's willingness to move to the Premier League could make a £20m move somewhat simple.
Things went into overdrive on social media on Monday when Daka retweeted a post suggesting Chelsea were interested in him, but Fabrizio Romano calmed things down and stressed that it was a mistake from Daka's social media team.
One thing that could complicate things, however, is continued interest from Liverpool. The Reds see Daka as an affordable addition to their forward line and have been boosted by the knowledge that the 22-year-old is actually a Liverpool fan.
He confessed exclusively to 90min that he grew up dreaming of playing at Anfield and emulating Luis Suarez. Sadio Mane, who spent time with Salzburg, is also a known influence for the forward.
The main point of Sky's report was that Salzburg's sister club, RB Leipzig, have expressed an interest in Daka and are hoping to take advantage of the links between the two clubs to bring him in, just as they did with Dominik Szoboszlai in January.
Leipzig are yet to replace Timo Werner, who was sold to Chelsea last summer, and saw central midfielder Marcel Sabitzer finish as their top scorer last season with just eight strikes to his name.
The hope is that they can convince Daka to head to Germany, but both Chelsea and Liverpool may have something to say about that.