Chelsea risk being beaten to the signing of Roma defender Mehdi Benatia by Bayern Munich.

Jose Mourinho appeared to be leading the race to capture the centre-back and sources in Italy claimed Chelsea had already submitted a £24million offer to the side who finished runners-up in Serie A last season.

But Bayern now appear to have entered the race for Benatia, 27. Last season’s Bundesliga champions have been persuaded to make their move because Javi Martinez has suffered cruciate knee ligament damage and faces a long spell out of action.

Martinez is a midfielder converted into a central defender by Bayern coach Pep Guardiola. His absence has brought Benatia to Bayern’s attention and they are expected to place a formal bid in the coming days.

Benatia, who was born in France but plays for Morocco, joined Roma from Udinese only last summer.

He quickly established himself as one of the best defenders in the Italian top flight after his move to the capital.