Chelsea and Liverpool battle for Papadopoulos

Chelsea and Liverpool are locked in the battle for Schalke stopper Kyriakos Papadopoulos, reports Sport Bild.

With both sides widely searching for defensive reinforcements, the Greek centre-back could be the subject of a real bidding war between the Premier League rivals.

The 21-year-old has long been linked with a move away from Schalke, but the Miners are doing everything in their power to keep hold of their prized asset.

Papadopoulos has a contract until June 2016 at Veltins Arena and a get-out clause of €22.5 million, which could be exercised by one of the interested clubs.

Despite his fragile age, the Greece international already has a wealth of experience of playing at the highest level, having made no less than 57 Bundesliga appearances for the Miners.

He has also featured in 24 European fixtures for Schalke, and he would have certainly made quite a few appearances more had it not been for the numerous injury problems.