Chelsea boosted as Barcelona cool interest in Bundesliga sensation – but they still face a fight
Barcelona have cooled their interest in Eintracht Frankurt striker Luka Jovic, opening the door for Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal to pounce.
Diario Sport report that the Catalan club are having second thoughts about signing the forward after Eintracht raised the asking price from £43m to £51m.
Jovic is on loan at the Commerzbank-Arena from Benfica, but the German side are expected to make the move permanent before selling him on for a profit.
Barcelona were previously leading the race for his signature, but competition from the likes of PSG, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal has prompted Eintracht to demand a larger fee.
Chelsea have made more progress than their two Premier League rivals, despite the fact that they are currently banned from signing players for two transfer windows.
The Blues have appealed against that punishment and hope the suspension will be put on hold to allow them to enter the market this summer.
Jovic has been a revelation for Eintracht this season, scoring 22 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions.
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Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).