BACK Man Utd, Manchester City, Chelsea and Aston Villa are all “in contact” with Bayer Leverkusen as they battle for the signature of winger Kerim Alajbegovic, according to reports in Bosnia. Reprezentacija claims that the four Premier League clubs are hoping to snap up the 18-year-old ahead of the summer transfer window. Alajbegovic is currently with Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg, and he has caught the eye with his performances this season. However, Leverkusen have a buyback clause on the teenager, and they triggered it last month to bring him back to Germany, where he started his career. It doesn’t mean that Alajbegovic will be staying with the Bundesliga side for long, with it looking like they could potentially sell him on again for a sizeable profit. What do fans need to know about Alajbegovic? The forward was born in Cologne, Germany, and he initially joined FC Cologne’s youth ranks before leaving for Leverkusen on a free transfer in the summer of 2021. Alajbegovic never played a first-team game for Leverkusen, although he was a prolific scorer at Under-17 and Under-19 level. It led to Salzburg signing him in a deal worth €2m last year, but the buyback option means Leverkusen kept control of his future. He can play on either wing or as a No. 10. Alajbegovic has been capped 8 times by Bosnia, a country he is eligible to play for via his parents. He was part of the team that beat Italy in a playoff last month to secure their place at the 2026 World Cup. Leverkusen have set their asking price for the Man Utd target Reprezentacija report that Alajbegovic’s asking price could now be “over €30m (£26m)”, which means Leverkusen are hoping to receive almost four times the amount they will end paying for the winger (€8m/£7m). Based on the Bosnia international’s form this campaign, they may feel justified in holding out for that much. He has scored 11 goals and provided 3 assists in 37 appearances, and he won’t even turn 19 until September. Want more news on Man Utd? Add Man U News as a preferred source on Google David Tully David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for the Football News Network.





