McDonald's plans to roll out a new fried-chicken sandwich as the fast-food giant gears up against Popeyes and Chick-fil-A

• McDonald's plans to roll out a new fried-chicken sandwich across the US in early 2021.
• The fast-food giant has been working on a revamped chicken sandwich over the past year, testing multiple sandwiches.
• With the new offering, McDonald's hopes to compete with Popeyes and Chick-fil-A in the chicken-sandwich wars.

McDonald's plans to roll out a new fried-chicken sandwich, pitting it against offerings from rivals such as Chick-fil-A and Popeyes.

On Monday, McDonald's announced plans to introduce the Crispy Chicken Sandwich in the US early next year.

"McDonald's also has significant opportunity to expand its chicken offerings, a category that is growing faster than beef," the company said in a press release. "This includes leveraging the extraordinary global strength of Chicken McNuggets and the McChicken sandwich, and investing in new line extensions and flavors."

The company's plans to roll out a new chicken sandwich have been the subject of speculation within the industry for months.

McDonald's tested two new chicken sandwiches in December of last year and January of this year. Franchisees have pushed for more than a year for McDonald's to roll out a "competitive" chicken sandwich.

Read more: McDonald's franchisees in leaked email call for the fast-food giant to 'stay focused' on creating a chicken sandwich that customers crave as the chain battles Popeyes and Chick-fil-A

"We need to stay focused on coming up with a Chicken Sandwich our customers are going to crave," the McDonald's National Owners Association — an independent group of franchisees — wrote in an internal message in January. "A chicken sandwich that gives our customers another reason to visit McDonald's. A McDonald's Classic to go with our classic sweet tea."

Last year's supremely successful launch of Popeyes' chicken sandwich — as well as Chick-fil-A's continuing success — proved that a high-quality chicken sandwich could drive sales. In the months since, other fast-food chains have been playing catch-up. Wendy's debuted a new chicken sandwich in late October, and Church's Chicken rolled out its first chicken sandwich at about the same time.