Chelsea are ready to rival London neighbours West Ham United for the signature of highly-rated RB Leipzig left-back Matthew Bondswell.
That is according to a report by The Telegraph, who claim the two clubs are among several clubs chasing his signature.
The 18-year-old defender, who has been capped for England at Under-15s, U16s, U17s and U18s level, is currently on loan at Dutch outfit FC Dordrecht.
The teenager joined Dordrecht on loan from RB Leipzig for the entirety of the 2020/21 season in an attempt to gain more first-team experience back in August and he has so far racked up seven appearances for the club in all competitions.
Though he is only just over two months into his loan spell, the RB Leipzig youngster has produced some eye-catching performances in the Netherlands, leading to interest in his services from a plethora of clubs.
During the summer transfer window, Chelsea, who played out a goalless draw with Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, bolstered their left-back options with the addition of England defender Ben Chilwell from Leicester City.
Chilwell's arrival in west London saw him instantly installed as the club's new first choice left-sided full-back, meaning Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri were left to fight it out for the back-up role.
However, since Chilwell arrived at Stamford Bridge, both players have been closely linked with moves away from the club, especially the latter.
Emerson has been heavily linked with a return to his native Italy, with the likes of Juventus and Inter Milan having been closely tracking his developments.
Should Chelsea offload him come January, it is highly likely that they would be able to launch a move for Bondswell, as he is less likely to demand first-team football at Premier League level than Emerson would due to his young age.
RB Leipzig have already had a transfer dealing with Chelsea inside the last 12 months, of course, as Timo Werner swapped the Bundesliga giants for Stamford Bridge back in June.
That could stand Chelsea, who return to Champions League action on Wednesday evening when they travel to Spain to lock horns with Sevilla, in good stead to get a deal done for Bondswell, as the Werner deal was completed with minimal fuss and was welcomed by all parties.
Since joining the Blues, Werner has racked up 15 appearances for the club, scoring seven goals and claimed three assists.
