Werder Bremen have confirmed that Mesut Ozil could leave the club this summer. The club's director of sport Klaus Allofs said Ozil could depart the Bundesliga outfit, though nothing is decided.
"It is possible that there is now a bit of movement in the issue," Allofs told the Kreiszeitung Syke newspaper.
And the race to sign up the German playmaker is between Barcelona, Manchester United and Chelsea, though latest reports suggest that the last-named English club is close to inking the deal.
After Ozil turned down a new contract with Bremen, the German club is likely to sell him rather than risk lose him on a free transfer next year.
On Tuesday, while Spanish media reported on that Barca have reached an agreement to sign the 21-year-old who was one of the stars of Germany's World Cup campaign, British media said Chelsea emerged serious contenders to sign the 21-year-old. The possible deal could be in the range of £13 million.
According to The Times, London, Chelsea's bid is being led by Vlado Lemic, a Serbian agent with influential connections in Germany and a strong relationship with Klaus Allofs, Bremen's general director.
The capture of Ozil would be a coup for Chelsea, who are looking for a replacement for Deco, who moved to Brazilian club Fluminense on Monday.
Though Chelsea have agreed to a deal with Benfica to sign Brazil midfielder Ramires, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti hinted after the 1-3 Community Shield defeat by Manchester United on Sunday that he is looking for a more attacking midfield player.
Ozil, for his part, appears cool about moving to England.
"The Premier League is attractive," he said last month.
"You look at what Manchester United and Chelsea have achieved over the last five years and you see it would be easy to be successful at clubs like that. I see what Michael Ballack achieved at Chelsea and the quality of players he played with and the temptation becomes obvious.
"Trophies are what matter to me. There are two teams in England always at the top and that's attractive. But the same is true for La Liga. They're the strongest leagues in the world."
