Man Utd transfer race explodes into life as Aston Villa, Chelsea ‘submit offers’ to deny Ratcliffe
A Germany ace is picking up lots of Prem interest
The race to sign Maximilian Beier is heating up, with Aston Villa and Chelsea reportedly sending the Hoffenheim ace ‘offers’ as they try to beat Manchester United and Liverpool.
Beier, 21, is a centre-forward who can also operate as a winger on either flank. He is a graduate of the Hoffenheim academy and has so far made 46 appearances for the German outfit, managing 18 goals and four assists in that time.
Last season, the attacker registered 16 goals and three assists in 35 games across all competitions.
Beier’s rise has seen him win two caps for the German national team and also emerge as a target for several Premier League clubs.
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In June, Aston Villa were backed to ‘fight’ Chelsea for Beier’s capture, while it emerged on Monday that both Man Utd and Liverpool are keen on the player.
German journalist Florian Plettenberg has now provided a key update on Beier’s future. The transfer race has exploded into life as Aston Villa and Chelsea have sent ‘concrete offers’ to Beier’s camp as they try to strike agreements on personal terms.
Both Villa and Chelsea are hopeful that they can win the chase, despite Man Utd and Liverpool also being in the mix.
Plettenberg adds that two other clubs have made contact with Beier’s entourage too, while Hoffenheim’s German rivals Bayer Leverkusen are interested as well.
Man Utd latest: Battle with Aston Villa, Chelsea underway
Crucially, the reporter adds that at this stage there is no complete contract agreement for the rising star to join a new club, and none of his potential suitors have begun talks with Hoffenheim yet.
But if Villa and Chelsea manage to strike an agreement on personal terms, then they will start negotiations to strike a deal with Hoffenheim.
There will be a ‘final decision’ on Beier’s future in the next two weeks as Hoffenheim want to resolve the situation quickly so that they can start planning what their new forward line might look like.
It has been claimed that it will cost Villa, Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool or Leverkusen £34million to sign Beier, who is one of the quickest players in the Bundesliga. But Plettenberg states that his release clause actually stands at €30m (£25m).
That represents great value for money for a young striker who is already putting up good numbers and has the potential to become an elite goalscorer in the future.
Villa are on the hunt for a new striker who can provide backup for Ollie Watkins, such as Beier, with Jhon Duran of interest to several teams including West Ham United.
Chelsea currently have Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu as their main striker options. But the Blues are snapping up the best young talent around and Beier fits into that category.
Man Utd, meanwhile, are weighing up whether to land another striker after winning the race for Dutch hitman Joshua Zirkzee. But Sir Jim Ratcliffe could miss out on Beier now that Villa and Chelsea have overtaken Man Utd in this particular transfer hunt.