Chelsea & Borussia Dortmund Join Race for Flamengo Midfielder Gerson
By Tom Gott
Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund are both monitoring Flamengo midfielder Gerson, who has also attracted interest from Tottenham Hotspur.
A source confirmed to 90min back in December 2019 that the 23-year-old had played his way on to Spurs' radar since returning to Brazil, having led his side to Copa Libertadores and Série A glory in 2019.
It appears as though they aren't the only side to have been impressed by Gerson's performances this year. Brazilian journalist Eric Garcia told SporTV that both Chelsea and Dortmund have already opened negotiations with Gerson's agent over a potential deal.
"I'm talking about Chelsea, from England, and Borussia Dortmund, from Germany," Garcia began. "These two clubs are negotiating with businessman Giuliano Bertolucci.
"I had the opportunity to talk to Gerson's father, Marcão Santos, who also takes care of his son's career, and he confirmed this negotiation, saying that the proposal will actually reach Flamengo officials on 18, 19 or 20 June."
Garcia added that a fee of around €35m (£32m) would likely be enough to convince Flamengo to part ways with the 23-year-old, who cost just over £10m last summer.
It is expected that Gerson, who returned to Brazil after struggling in Europe with Roma, will be sold this summer after rebuilding his reputation in his homeland, but whether any of the teams mentioned previously are actually interested is a different question entirely.
Chelsea are pursuing a £75m move for Bayer Leverkusen's Kai Havertz, and given they have already agreed deals to sign both Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, it seems unlikely that the Blues will have a spare £32m to throw at Gerson.
As for Dortmund, they could soon come into a hefty sum of money, with both Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland linked with blockbuster moves away from Signal Iduna Park this summer, so affording a deal for Gerson could be a real possibility.