Andreas Christensen has been told that he has the 'prerequisites' to be playing at a 'top club' like Bayern Munich as the Dane makes his final decision on his Chelsea future.
The 25-year-old's current contract with the Blues expires in June and it doesn't look likely at this stage that the Denmark international will be committing his future in SW6 for the foreseeable future.
The defender, who spent two years on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach, was a key performer for Chelsea throughout 2021 but has featured less often recently, with Thomas Tuchel admitting that the standoff over his contract had affected Christensen's playing time.
A whole host of clubs are reportedly interested in acquiring his signature, one of which is Bayern Munich, according to reports in Germany.
But like others, they also are currently struggling to agree on a suitable financial package that suits all parties.
Sky Germany claim that Christensen is on €5million (£4.2million) per year right now, and that Chelsea have offered him a rise to €7.5million (£6.2million), but that he wants €10million (£8.3million).
These contractual demands have ruled Borussia Dortmund out of the race for the Blues number 4's signature according to transfer expert Marc Behrenbeck of Sky Germany.
Therefore, alongside muted interest from Serie A clubs, Bayern look to have stolen a march automatically on any competitors for the signing of Christensen, who has been told look nowhere else but Bavaria, with his former Gladbach connection Andre Schubert labelling him as an 'outstandingly' good player.
He told Sky: "He's an outstandingly good player and also a national player. So I think he has the prerequisites to be at an absolute Top club as Bayern Munich can claim.
"He is a central defender at a very, very high level."
Bayern and Chelsea could be very busy dealing with each other in the summer of 2022 with the likes of the aforementioned Christensen, Niklas Sule and potentially Timo Werner on the agenda.
On the second player of the trio, football.london understands that the Blues have held a long-standing interest in the agile centre-back who is attracting attention from Ralf Rangnick's Man United too, but the previous contact in the past with a player known to many as the 'German Harry Maguire' has the Blues on course to end a 6-year transfer mission ahead of their Premier League rivals.
If the European Champions were to complete a Thiago Silva type of signing for Sule, it could compensate well for Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta's possible departures from the club.
On top of the German international, the west London outfit could secure the signature of Jules Kounde to compliment the potential mini defensive rebuild required at Stamford Bridge come the conclusion of the 2021/22 campaign.
