Chelsea face fresh competition from European giants in race to sign 21-year-old La Liga star: Reports

Chelsea are reportedly set to face tough competition from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich in the transfer race to sign Atletico Madrid star Pablo Barrios.

Barrios, 21, has emerged as a key first-team starter for Los Rojiblancos in the ongoing season. He has started 23 of his 25 overall appearances for his team this campaign, contributing two assists in the process.

Now, according to Spanish outlet Fichajes.net, Bayern Munich have set their sights on Barrios as they feel the Spaniard could potentially replace Joshua Kimmich. However, Atletico have no intention of parting ways with their player, who is considered as Koke's natural successor.

Diego Simeone's side, who are currently just one point off La Liga leaders Barcelona, are keen to hand Barrios a new deal to ward off interest from Bayern and Chelsea. The ex-Real Madrid youth player has a contract until 2028 at his club now and has an exit clause of £83 million.

Overall, Barrios has featured in 86 games in all competitions for his club.

Mario Melchiot insists Chelsea's sub-par run of form is down to no one helping 22-year-old out

Despite opening the ongoing season on a great note, Chelsea have endured a tough time in the past two months. They have registered three wins and five defeats in their last 11 matches across all competitions.

During a recent chat on ESPN FC, former Blues defender Mario Melchiot suggested his former club's recent poor run of form is due to a lack of help offered to Cole Palmer. He said (h/t The Chelsea Chronicle):

"All the people that play against Palmer now, they're marking him differently because he's not anymore a surprise package. This season kicked off, he started off well. Now you see the assists numbers coming down and goal production coming down."

Melchiot, who represented the Blues 164 times from 1999 to 2004, added:

"It's not because I don't think he's a good player because he's a great player, but you have to remember in every team when you focus on one individual that is that good, you need some other players to create danger. It looks like they've put the problem at him and let him fix everything. I think that is where the biggest problem is at the moment."

Palmer, 22, has started 26 of his 28 appearances across all competitions for the west London outfit this season. The attacking midfielder has registered 14 goals and six assists, all coming in the Premier League.