Edmond Tapsoba says there is ‘nothing concrete’ in place for him to sign for Chelsea this summer and expects to still be a Bayer Leverkusen player when the new campaign begins.
The 22-year-old has established himself as one of the best young defenders in Germany since swapping Vitoria for Leverkusen in January 2020 and his impressive displays have not gone unnoticed.
Arsenal have placed Tapsoba on their shortlist at centre-back and there have been rumours the London club had an opening offer of £51.4m rejected for the player last month.
German publication Sport Bild recently reported Manchester United and Chelsea had joined the Gunners in the race for Tapsoba’s signature, with both sides initiating discussions over a possible deal this summer.
But, it appears the central defender remains committed to Leverkusen for the time being, with another five years left on his contract at Bay Arena.
‘With Chelsea, for the moment, there is nothing concrete, nothing official,’ Tapsoba said as per Afrique Sports.
‘What I can say is that I will start my season with Bayer Leverkusen. ‘We keep our fingers crossed for God to guide us to the right path.’
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Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said Tapsoba had an important role to play for the next season when pressed on the speculation surrounding the player’s future.
‘Edmond should play a very important role for us next season,’ he told Bild last month.
Tapsoba has often been likened to Jerome Boateng and the youngster revealed an unlikely admiration for Manchester City centre-back John Stones when he moved to Leverkusen 18 months ago.
‘I was inspired by John Stones who was at Everton and now plays for Manchester City,’ he said. ‘Virgil van Dijk is one of the best defenders in the world but I like the way Stones plays so that’s what I take inspiration from.’
