Chelsea are reportedly interested in signing 17-year-old striker Joe Gelhardt from Wigan Athletic.
The Blues currently face competition from Premier League rivals Liverpool and Everton for the youngster’s signature as they each look to build for the future.
Gelhardt may see the Blues as a more attractive move due to the recent acquisition of Frank Lampard as Chelsea manager - a manager he may find more joy under who has a philosophy utilising the academy and young players.
With Liverpool chasing the youngster, Gelhardt may look at the Bobby Duncan situation to sway his thinking.
Brought to the light
Gelhardt is a 17-year-old attacker who plays for Wigan and is capped for England at U16 and U17 age groups.
He made his debut for Wigan in the EFL Cup First Round against Rotherham United last year aged just 16 - just ten days later the striker signed his first professional contract with the club.
Goals for England
Gelhardt initially attracted attention for his goal scoring ability in Wigan’s academy ranks however he then took his shooting boots to the international stage.
He made his debut for England U16s aged 15 against Spain in a 2-0 win and went on to make six appearances for the age group.
The talented youngster continued to showcase his ruthless streak in front of goal and scored against: Scotland, Cameroon, Brazil and then France before featuring for the U17s.
Gelhardt has played 15 times for the U17s scoring 12 and featured for the Young Lions at the 2019 U17 EUROs - unfortunately, they dived out in the group stage.