Chelsea to battle Bayern Munich for World Cup star

A report in the Sun this morning says that Chelsea are lining up a bid for the impressive Dutch defender Gregory Van Der Wiel. He was earlier reported as a target for Arsenal, who are still looking to buy another defender, but the tabloid thinks that Chelsea and Bayern Munich are now the front-runners for the 22 year-old Ajax youngster.

The report said: CHELSEA are in danger of missing out on Holland’s World Cup defender Gregory van der Wiel.

German rivals Bayern Munich have agreed a £14million fee with Ajax and want to seal a deal with the highly-rated fullback before Sunday’s World Cup final.

But the Blues target is so far refusing to talk with the Bundesliga champions, as he focuses on his nation’s final showdown against Spain.

And that means Stamford Bridge boss Carlo Ancelotti has the weekend to come up with a rival deal that will see off Bayern and then to persuade the 22-year-old that his future really lies in London.

Van der Wiel has made four appearances for the Dutch at the 2010 finals.

Van Der Wiel is definitely a classy young player, but do Chelsea really need any more defenders?