Chelsea transfer news: Blues 'favourites' to sign 18-year-old wonderkid

By Darren Plant | 23 Jul 2026 12:23

Chelsea now 'favourites' to sign 18-year-old wonderkid

Chelsea have reportedly emerged as the favourites to sign Bayer Leverkusen starlet Kerim Alajbegovic.

The Blues are seemingly making a conscious effort to finalise their squad for the 2026-27 campaign as soon as possible.

Morgan Rogers has been signed from Aston Villa for £117m, while Xabi Alonso is eager to add at least one of Maxence Lacroix or John Stones to his defensive department.

Alonso is also in the market for a new central midfielder, a search that could be prolonged, but it appears that he also wants to add one of European football's top prospects to his squad.

According to The Telegraph, Chelsea are now leading the race to sign Alajbegovic from one of Alonso's former clubs.

Who is Kerim Alajbegovic?

At one point in recent weeks, Atalanta BC had been favourites to sign the 18-year-old, who represented Red Bull Salzburg last season.

A total of 13 goal and four assists were contributed from 44 appearances, subsequently leading to Leverkusen choosing to activate a buy-back clause.

However, Chelsea are said to be prepared to pay in the region of £30m to sign a teenager who scored an incredible 38 goals and provided 19 assists across 78 appearances for Leverkusen's Under-17 and Under-19 teams.

Aljabegovic has already made his mark for Bosnia & Herzegovina on the international stage, playing four times at the World Cup and scoring in a win over Qatar.

The prospect was used as a left winger and as a number 10 during the tournament.

One for Chelsea's future?

As it stands, Chelsea could have a final-third contingent of Cole Palmer, Rogers, Estevao Willian, Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro, Nicolas Jackson and Emanuel Emegha.

That is assuming that the likes of Alejandro Garnacho finalises a transfer to Aston Villa, and the likes of Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap and Marc Guiu also leave Stamford Bridge.

Despite Alajbegovic's undoubted potential, it is difficult to see where he fits into Alonso's plans for 2026-27, unless Jackson is sold or loaned out for a second season in a row.

If a deal is finalised, BlueCo may have plans to use Alajbegovic at Strasbourg for 2026-27.