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Boubakary Soumare: Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea chasing Lille midfielder

Real Madrid and Valencia also interested in France U21 international

Boubakary Soumare of Lille
Image: Boubakary Soumare has made 23 appearances for Lille in all competitions this term

Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea are all chasing Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare, who is likely to be sold this month, Sky Sports News has been told.

Spanish clubs Real Madrid and Valencia are also said to be interested in the France U21 international, who was signed from Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer by Lille's highly-rated sporting director Luis Campos.

A deal could be done in the next week to 10 days, although Lille would prefer to keep him until after their Ligue 1 home game against PSG on January 26 if they can.

Boubakary Soumare of Lille in action against Chelsea
Image: Boubakary Soumare in action against Chelsea

Soumare, who has two-and-a-half years left on his Lille contract, is a box-to-box midfielder in the mould of Paul Pogba and has impressed across 23 appearances in all competitions this season, including six in the Champions League.

He is expected to be the only one of Lille's promising stars to be sold this month, despite 21-year-old striker Victor Osimhen and 22-year-old centre-back Gabriel also being tracked by top clubs from across Europe.

Sky Sports News has already reported that Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham have been monitoring the development of Osmihen, who has scored just one goal fewer than Kylian Mbappe in the French top flight this season, but will not depart unless Lille receive an eye-watering offer.

A top Italian club are the favourites for Brazilian Gabriel at the moment, but he is another player the club want to wait until the summer before listening to offers.

Also See:

How to follow the January transfer window with Sky Sports

Sky Sports will bring you the very latest news from the January transfer market with the return of three shows.

Start your day with Good Morning Transfers at 9am as our team of reporters bring you the latest news and insight. Transfer Talk then follows at midday delivering analysis of the biggest stories. Then join us at 7pm for the definitive round-up of the day's news with The Transfer Show.

Meanwhile, the Transfer Talk podcast will also be back at the turn of the year with more expert analysis from here and across the continent.

And as well as tuning into Sky Sports News, don't miss a thing with our dedicated Transfer Centre blog.

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