Chelsea look to have won the battle to sign 20-year-old Borussia Dortmund prospect Christian Pulisic.
The American-born winger, who stood out for his country against England on Thursday, is out of contract in 2020 and Dortmund have accepted they must cash in on him at the end of this season.
Chelsea are in a hurry and will push for the deal to be done in January, with the threat of a transfer ban looming over their alleged recruitment of under-age players.
Pulisic is one of the rising stars of the Bundesliga and Dortmund have been the front-runners in Germany this season, culminating in a win over Bayern Munich last Saturday. But he hasn’t always been able to get in the team since the emergence of Jadon Sancho in his position.
Pulisic has been at the club since the age of 16 but is now refusing to engage in contract talks, prompting Dortmund’s decision to cash in.
There has been talk of a price in the region of £70m, but that may have come down with the prospect of losing him for nothing in 2020.
Earlier this week Pulisic said he was open to a move to the Premier League, and Sportsmail understands Chelsea have got in swiftly ahead of rivals including Liverpool and Tottenham.