Chelsea are leading the chase Middlesbrough for winger Adama Traore.
Boro are braced to lose the Spanish Under-21 star, who has shone under Tony Pulis in the back end of the season.
Pulis and Boro are still hoping to get promoted via the play-offs, but even if they go up – they realise they can’t shun such a big deal on offer for Traore, who was with Barcelona and Aston Villa before joining the Teessiders.
The 22-year-old is keen to remain in England, but would love another crack at the top-flight after limited chances with Boro and Villa, but he is now looking more like the finished product that so many thought he could be.
Everton and Newcastle have also been linked with Traore, but Chelsea’s main competition is likely to come from Manchester City – where his former boss Pep Guardiola is.
Traore came through at Barca whilst Guardiola was in charge and he was interested in taking him to Bayern Munich, and he is again interested – also impressed by his progress this term.
However, any team wanting to land the Spanish Under-21 intentional Traore would need to come up with a deal worth £30million.
Bookmakers also believe that should Traore depart The Riverside this summer, then indeed Chelsea and Man City are the two likely to land him, and they are joint favourites with BetVictor.