New £25m Chelsea striker target emerges that World Cup legend loves as 'pole position' hint given

Chelsea are reportedly interested in Hoffenheim forward Maximilian Beier but are not in pole position to sign him.

The 21-year-old enjoyed a stellar campaign in the Bundesliga last term, scoring 16 goals and providing three assists for the German club. Beier's performances have seen him called up to Julian Nagelsmann's Germany squad for Euro 2024 where he is yet to play after two games.

And Sky reporter Florian Plettenberg has provided the latest on Beier's future, claiming that the Blues have gathered information about him. The centre-forward, who can also play as a winger, has a €30million (£25m) release clause in his Hoffenheim contract.

"Chelsea with a concrete interest in Maximilian #Beier," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "#CFC have gathered information about the 21 y/o top striker from Hoffenheim in recent days!

"Beier, with a release clause of around €30m + salary and signing fees. 16 goals and 3 assists this Bundesliga season. Several teams from the Premier League are pushing for him.

"Leverkusen also have him on their list. He only wants to leave Hoffenheim if everything truly fits perfectly. Understand, that Chelsea is not in the pole position at the moment."

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Both his manager, Pellegrino Matarazzo, and Germany legend Miroslav Klose are great admirers of the talisman. As quoted by the Bundesliga website, the Hoffenheim boss described Beier as a natural-born goalscorer.

"Above all, it is important for him to even get into positions from which he can shoot," said the American. "He can manage that thanks to his dynamism and technique. You either have those genes or you don't, and Maxi has those genes to score goals."

Meanwhile, the Germany legend recalled his time with Beier in the Bayern Munich academy. Klose said: "I played against him in my first years as FC Bayern's U17 coach and his qualities were immediately apparent. He runs an incredible amount, works for the team and rewards himself with goals. I'm sure Julian Nagelsmann has him on his radar."