Chelsea joined Barca and Madrid in the race for Ajax's star

Barcelona and Real Madrid are ready to face competition from reigning European champions Chelsea in pursuit of Antony Matheus from Ajax. Brazil international came through the youth sides at Sao Paulo and made his name with the first team before the Eredivisie giants swooped in to sign him in the summer last year.

Dubbed as the ‘new Neymar’ back in his homeland, Antony hit the ground running in Europe, producing a tally of ten goals and assists each in 46 games in his debut campaign. Matheus has already directly contributed to three goals in five games in the new campaign.

The 21-year-old winger’s rise to prominence with the Dutch club and the immense potential that he has shown early in his career has now put almost every big team around Europe on alert. Earlier this month, reports of Real Madrid and Barcelona’s interest had started doing the rounds, with the Blues also now joining them in the battle.

However, both Barcelona and Real Madrid will have to contend with competition from the Blues. Chelsea have a well-stocked attacking unit with the German tactician having the likes of Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi vying for the two wide attacking midfield slots in the lineup.

However, the latter’s future continues to be uncertain due to a lack of playing time, while Christian Pulisic’s injury concerns could warrant the signing of another wide winger, making the Brazilian attacker a viable target.