Juventus join race for Iling-Junior as Chelsea fear losing 16-year-old winger

Chelsea could lose 16-year-old winger Samuel Iling-Junior in the summer, with Juventus being the latest club to join the race for his signature.

Paris Saint-Germain are another major contender to sign Iling-Junior, with Bayern Munich, Ajax and Schalke also rumoured to be interested.

The Blues are keen to tie the England Under-17 international to his first professional contract but are concerned that he could be tempted to leave.

More teams

The 2019-20 season marked the breakthrough campaign for the forward, who is considered to be one of the best in his age group having impressed in Ed Brand's Under-18s team.

Borussia Dortmund have been linked with making a move for Chelsea's other top attacking talent from the same age group, Charlie Webster, who the west Londoners are looking to sign onto professional terms.

Chelsea are, however, more confident about renewing Webster's deal, with the 16-year-old set for a prominent role under Brand next season.

Frank Lampard has already given eight debuts to academy stars from the club's Cobham training base this season and it is hoped that the new direction from the manager might help retain more talented youngsters.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, Reece James, Fikayo Tomori, Billy Gilmour and Armando Broja have all opted to renew their deals this season, while the Blues are also in advanced talks to tie Tammy Abraham to a new long-term contract.

Tino Anjorin, meanwhile, has already agreed on terms but the announcement remains pending as the club attempt to conduct a formal announcement - something which is proving more difficult amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Similarly, confirmation of Olivier Giroud's one-year extension is being held up for the same reasons.

With uncertainty around the transfer market in world football, Chelsea have prioritised strengthening their academy with new talent in recent months in an aggressive recruitment drive.

They have already signed several youth players from Scandinavia, including Finnish youngsters Jimi Tauriainen and Lucas Bergstrom, Norwegian talent Bryan Fiabema and Edwin Andersson from Sweden.

They are also competing with Atletico Madrid to sign Stoke City's Mohamed Sankoh.

The FA, Premier League and EFL have moved to cancel youth competitions with Chelsea top of the Under-23s division dubbed Premier League 2.

The Blues were also in contention to win the Under-18s Premier League and the FA Youth Cup - although the latter has yet to be officially cancelled.