It seems the race for Robert Lewandowski is growing by the second, with Manchester United drifting away from their exclusiveness on the striker, suddenly turning into the hottest commodity in Europe. Borussia Dortmund aren’t too inclined to sell, but Chelsea might have the edge in the Premier League race for the Polish striker, not necessarily because of money.
Dortmund, just like Leverkusen, are very interested in Kevin de Bruyne, who has been having a fantastic season on a loan spell with Werder Bremen. The once prestigious club is still in danger of going down, but De Bruyne, a Belgian attacking midfielder, has been their best player this season with 7 goals and 9 assists. His arrival might mean Dortmund won’t have to look too much for a Mario Gotze replacement, and not an expensive one at that.
Leverkusen are also interested in the player, but on loan, and as part of a swap for Andre Schurrle. For now, it seems Chelsea would rather include De Bryune in a deal that sends him to Dortmund if it secures them the scoring talent of Robert Lewandowski, with 35 goals in all competitions this season, including 10 in the Champions League.
Manchester United have been on this ride since the start – they’ve been interested in Lewandowski for over a year, before he became the trendiest name among current world class strikers. Dortmund refused to let him go after already selling Shinji Kagawa to United last season, and the departure of Mario Gotze has ruined their plans of limiting their star-selling to just one player each year.
Lewandowski himself wants to go, refusing to sign a new contract that will keep him beyond the 2014 summer. Dortmund are currently thinking about simply keeping him till his contract runs out, even if it means missing out on €30 million he’ll probably attract from either buyer. When he does leave, for now, it looks like Chelsea have the slight edge in the race.