Manchester United and Chelsea have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Jonathan Tah, with the Bayer Leverkusen defender keen to secure a transfer move to the Premier League.
Tah, 28, has just one year remaining on his current contract at Leverkusen and has no intention of extending his stay with the German champions beyond the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
The sought-after centre-back repeatedly knocked back Leverkusen’s attempts to place him on a new deal this summer and made no secret of his desire for a fresh challenge while speaking to the media ahead of Germany’s 5-0 victory over Hungary last weekend.
‘My decision is just as clear as it was before. I will not extend my contract,’ Tah told German media in the build-up to the Nations League clash.
According to German publication Sport Bild, Leverkusen will launch one final bid to secure Tah on a new contract. However, the Bundesliga outfit have grown increasingly resigned to losing their prized possession at the end of the season.
Tah had appeared on the cusp of a switch to Bayern Munich before the summer transfer deadline but the report states that club bosses had ‘fundamental doubts’ about the Germany international and the move collapsed, despite a five-year deal being agreed.
It’s claimed Tah’s ‘biggest wish’ is to play in the Premier League, preferably for a team competing in the Champions League.
English giants Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham are all said to be keeping close tabs on the situation.
Barcelona also have a long-held interest in Tah and failed with a last-ditch bid to sign the centre-half last month, with sporting director Deco and Leverkusen chief Fernando Carro in talks over a possible transfer.
The report suggests the Catalan giants remain in the race and that Joan Laporta’s strong relationship with Tah’s agent Pini Zahavi could play a key role in luring the German to the Camp Nou.
Tah joined Leverkusen from Hamburg back in 2015 and has gone on to make over 350 appearances for the first-team, helping the club win the Bundesliga, the German Cup and the German Super Cup.
Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso decided to leave Tah out of his starting XI for the side’s German Super Cup defeat of Stuttgart last month due to the uncertainty surrounding the defender’s future.
Tah did, though, come off the bench following Martin Terrier’s sending off and Alonso insisted he remained an ‘important player’ and a ‘leader’ in the dressing room.
‘Of course, in the first few weeks, there was a situation we didn’t want, but it can happen in football,’ Alonso told reporters after Leverkusen’s penalty-shootout win.
‘That’s why I decided not to let him start against Stuttgart.
‘But this week, he trained well again, fully focused, his mind was here. At the moment, there is no other news, so he remains in my plan, as an important player and leader.’