Chelsea have lost out in the race to sign Kerim Alajbegovic as Juventus have agreed a €40 million (£34.2m) deal to sign the Bayer Leverkusen winger, according to reports in Germany.
Xabi Alonso’s side were in the driving seat to sign Alajbegovic and had hoped to reach an agreement with Leverkusen over the weekend.
However, Sky Germany reports that Juventus have agreed an initial €33m (£28.2m) fee with Leverkusen for Alajbegovic, which could rise to €40m (£34.2m) after add-ons.
Xabi Alonso is understood to have been impressed by Alajbegovic during his time in Leverkusen’s youth system and the Chelsea manager was directly involved in convincing the Bosnia and Herzegovina international to make the move to Stamford Bridge.
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The 18-year-old is yet to make his senior debut for Leverkusen and spent last season at Red Bull Salzburg where he scored 13 goals and registered four assists.
Alajbegovic was signed by Red Bull Salzburg for €2m (£1.7m) last year but Leverkusen activated their €8m (£6.8m) buyback clause in March.
The winger started three games at the World Cup this summer as Bosnia and Herzegovina finished third in Group B and then lost to the United States in the round of 32.
Alajbegovic, who primarily plays on the left wing, also scored a brilliant solo goal in the 3-1 win over Qatar in the group stage.
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