Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free
Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter
Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter
Manchester United and Chelsea have stepped up talks over a potential Ben Chilwell move to Old Trafford, separate to negotiations over Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling.
The two clubs have been in constant negotiation over the last two days, as both attempt to resolve numerous remaining squad issues in the last 72 hours of the transfer market.
Chelsea’s main aim has been to resolve the future of Sterling, who is on a significant wage with no future at the club. Crystal Palace are understood to have turned down the chance to go for the 29-year-old, but such talks saw the idea of Chilwell joining United broached.
United do need another left-back given Luke Shaw’s persistent injury problems, which have seen manager Erik ten Hag forced to repeatedly experiment or compromise in the position. This has seen the Old Trafford hierarchy at least explore the option of whether a deal can be done for Chilwell.
The numbers are still some way off due to the 27-year-old’s high wage at Chelsea, however, and any progress may still be linked to the Sancho situation. There is a possibility that each club takes the other’s player on loan this season – Chilwell going to United, Sancho to Stamford Bridge – with a deal struck on wages.
Part of the issue is not just financial, naturally, but how Chilwell is expected to be completely sidelined at Chelsea while Ten Hag has long wanted to move Sancho on.
Paris Saint-Germain have been unwilling to move for the winger, while Juventus retain an interest but would require a considerable compromise on the numbers.
United have not yet rejected Sterling out of hand, but those talks have not taken a next step in the manner that talks around Chilwell have.
