Barcelona have reportedly emerged as favourites to sign Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Jonathan Tah, who is also a target for Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham.

The 28-year-old is set to be out of contract at the end of this season and will be able to open pre-contract talks in January with non-German clubs ahead of a free transfer next summer.

Tah played a major role in Leverkusen’s unbeaten 2023/24 domestic campaign that saw them win the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal and a number of sides are keen to secure his services.

According to Spanish outlet Fichajes, Barcelona have ‘taken the lead’ in the race for Tah, with negotiations over a free transfer to the Catalans now ‘advanced.’

The report credits Man Utd and Paris Saint-Germain with concrete interest with Tah but insists that Barcelona are the favourites.

The LaLiga giants are still grappling with financial problems, so snapping up a top-quality player like Tah on a free transfer would be an important piece of business for them.

It’s claimed that Tah is open to a move to Barcelona and has a ‘positive view’ of their ‘project’ – a team built on the combination of young talent and experience. Barcelona’s manager Hansi Flick is also thought to be a reason why he’s keen on a switch to the Bernabeu.

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Chelsea, Tottenham also keen on Jonathan Tah

Chelsea and Tottenham are also keen on Tah and reports earlier this week claimed that the Blues were favourites to sign the centre-back, so this is clearly a fast-moving race.

It was stated that Chelsea were favourites to sign Tah after ‘entering into active negotiations over a deal’ as they ‘look to beat rivals’ to his signature.

Enzo Maresca’s side are reportedly ‘making early efforts to try to move into a strong position for Tah.’ TEAMtalk understands that the Italian coach isn’t fully convinced by Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile and is open to bringing in defensive reinforcements.

As for Tottenham, Ange Postecoglou wants more competition for Cristian Romero, who has been heavily linked with Real Madrid of late, as well as Micky van de Ven and Radu Dragusin, with back-up centre-back Ben Davies well down the pecking order.

It will be interesting to see whether Man Utd, Chelsea or Tottenham do open contract talks for Tah in January. The latest reports out of Spain suggest, however, that Barcelona will be tough to beat.

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Meanwhile, Man Utd are reportedly interested in Barcelona centre-back Jules Kounde and have reportedly ‘significantly improved’ their offer to prise him away from Catalonia.

However, Kounde is considered ‘one of the leaders of Barcelona squad’ and it is for that reason why ‘they will not consider studying any offer’ that comes in for him.

The LaLiga side have responded by saying that they would only allow Kounde to leave if someone matches his €1bn release clause which, clearly, isn’t going to happen.

In other news, Man Utd remain very interested in 17-year-old Sunderland midfielder Chris Rigg but it seems they’ll have to wait until the end of the season to make their move.

Sunderland are not willing to sell the youngster for any price in January and Rigg is also fully focused on helping the Black Cats secure promotion.

Man Utd may get the chance to sign Rigg next summer but if Sunderland do make the jump to the Premier League, it won’t be straightforward.

However, recent reports have seen the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund all linked with the England under-18s international, so Man Utd will face competition for his signature.

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IN FOCUS: Jonathan Tah’s superb 2023/34 season