Chelsea have joined the race to sign NK Kustosija teenager Dino Klapija this summer, but a fresh report has revealed they aren't the only club looking to bring him to the Premier League.
Who is Dino Klapija?
Klapija is naturally a striker who began his career with New York City’s academy before joining Dinamo Zagreb’s U17s, to now being a regular feature of NK Kustosija’s youth side, as per Transfermarkt, but there’s a chance that he could be on the move before the end of the window.
Croatia’s youth international still has another three years remaining on his contract with Petra Mandic’s side, but after training with the senior first team on several occasions, he’s already caught the eye of Manchester United, where Fabrizio Romano recently delivered an update on the 16-year-old’s future. Taking to X, he wrote:
“Understand Manchester United and RB Leipzig are both negotiating to sign top talent Dino Klapija — also an option to close the deal now for January. Decision on player side expected soon as 2007 born striker will leave Croatian side Kustosija soon.”
Are Chelsea signing Dino Klapija?
According to Sportske Novosti (via Sport Witness), Chelsea are also "showing an interest" in Klapija and are set to battle it out with Manchester United having entered the running to secure his services. The Premier League pair are "in the hunt" for the centre-forward who is viewed as a "top quality talent" and a "jewel" by his current club.
NK Kustosija sources have revealed that "numerous scouts" have been in attendance at some of their recent games and have "made their presence" known, with Barcelona, Juventus, AC Milan and RB Leipzig also firm contenders.
The European clubs have already "expressed their desire" that they would be willing to offer more than €5m (£4m) for their target, though it's unknown as to whether the top-flight clubs would be willing to do to the same.
How good is Dino Klapija?
Chelsea are reportedly looking to bolster their attacking ranks with young up-and-coming talents who will be able to develop and push to compete for a first team place in years to come, and whilst he’s not a household name, Klapija is set to have an extremely bright future ahead of him.
The USA born gem made his debut for Croatia’s U17s during their 2-0 victory over Montenegro back in December 2022, and has since gone on to pick up a second cap, with his nation clearly seeing the potential he has to offer and rewarding him for his efforts.
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With the exciting prospect still only being a teenager, it would make complete sense for him to be immediately sent out on loan should he put pen to paper in order to give him the necessary game time, experience and exposure so that he'd be ready to return and challenge for a spot in the senior fold.
Mauricio Pochettino is clearly open to handing opportunities to the younger players who deserve it with the likes of Levi Colwill and Carney Chukwuemeka having been regular features at the start of this season, and Klapija could follow in their footsteps in the near future.
