Chelsea and Man United rebuffed in moves to sign forward | OneFootball

Chelsea and Manchester United are among the clubs who saw approaches to sign RB Leipzig striker Lois Openda turned down in the summer.

Openda was a transfer target for several leading clubs after a prolific debut campaign with the German side.

After arriving in a club-record deal from Lens last summer, Openda ended the campaign with 28 goals in all competitions for Leipzig, with only Harry Kane and Serhou Guirassy outscoring the forward in the Bundesliga.

His performances included a brilliant brace in a Champions League clash at Manchester City and the 24-year-old’s performances caught the interest of English sides.

According to SportBild, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur all saw approaches turned down for the Belgium international.

Openda has a release clause of €80m (£67.4m) in his contract at Leipzig, though this can only be activated from 2025 and the German side would not consider offers this summer.

Man United and Spurs sign centre-forward alternatives

Manchester United instead turned their attention to Joshua Zirkzee and signed the forward from Bologna for £34m, while Spurs broke their transfer record to land Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth for £65m.

Chelsea failed to sign a striker despite efforts to land Ivan Toney and Victor Osimhen. The West Londoners could resume their interest in the latter in January.

Read – Only ‘eight clubs’ can activate forward’s release clause

See more – Five exciting footballers set for international debuts this month

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