Chelsea and Manchester City are reportedly keeping tabs on Borussia Dortmund’s teenage defender Nnamdi Collins.
According to a report from Tribal Football, Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester City are continuing to monitor the progress of Borussia Dortmund’s teenage prodigy Nnamdi Collins.
Collins, 17, started out at the youth ranks of Fortuna Dusseldorf before making the switch to the Borussia Dortmund academy in 2016. Since then, the centre-back has gone on to make rapid strides, registering 21 appearances for the German club’s Under-17 side before breaking into their Under-19 team this season, for whom he has featured four times.
Collins, who is rated as one of the brightest young defensive prospects in Germany, has managed to make a solid impression within the Dortmund ranks. So much so that, the 17-year-old has spent considerable time training with the first-team in the 2020/21 campaign.
Collins’ progress at the youth level for Borussia Dortmund has not gone unnoticed. Both Chelsea and Manchester City had shown an interest in securing the services of the teenage centre-back last year. However, the Bundesliga giants were able to stave off the pursuers and tie the defender down to a new three-year contract.
But, as per the aforementioned, both Chelsea and Manchester City continue to maintain an interest in the 17-year-old and are ready to pounce, should an opportunity present itself in the near future.
Chelsea, managed by former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel, did sign two promising young defenders in Malang Sarr and Xavier Mbuyamba last summer. While the former was loaned out, the latter has endured a torrid year having picked up a serious injury.
Plus with the likes of Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta not having much time left at the highest level of football, grooming young defenders to eventually take over would make sense from the Blues’ point of view. And given Collins’ steady progress and immense potential, he can be a handy addition with an eye on the future.
Manchester City also do not have an immediate requirement of a new centre-back at the first-team level given that Pep Guardiola has the likes of Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake, John Stones as his options. But with Eric Garcia set to join Barcelona when his contract expires, another young centre-back like Collins to act as understudy would not be the worst idea.
The report adds that the 17-year-old could decide to leave Borussia Dortmund in case he does not find a clear pathway to the first-team. However, his prospects of playing with the senior football with Chelsea or Manchester City wouldn’t be that great either if he does move this summer. For now, though, but clubs are continuing to monitor Collins’ progress.
