Man Utd ‘offered the chance to sign’ Chelsea star after Maresca drops transfer bombshell
Man Utd have been offered the opportunity to sign unwanted Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell this summer, according to reports.
The Red Devils have already signed Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui this summer, while they seem likely to sign Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte before the transfer deadline.
A report earlier this week insisted that Man Utd are now unlikely to sign a new left-back but a chance to sign Chelsea and England defender Chilwell could prove too good an opportunity to miss.
With Chelsea keen to offload the 27-year-old, the Red Devils would be in a strong negotiating position, while a move would see Chilwell battling it out with fellow England left-back Shaw.
And now talkSPORT claim that Man Utd ‘have been offered the chance to sign’ Chilwell ahead of the transfer deadline after he was ‘told he is not part of new manager Enzo Maresca’s plans.’
The report comes as Maresca told a press conference on Wednesday that both Chilwell and Raheem Sterling – who has been linked to Juventus and Aston Villa – are no longer part of his plans and have been training away from the rest of the Chelsea first team.
On Chilwell and Sterling, Maresca said: “They are training apart. As I said, the situation is quite clear and there is not any update on the situation.
“They are Chelsea players. Until they are Chelsea players. But it’s possible to give them all minutes. Those who want minutes, they are better off to leave.”
When asked whether he is brutal, Maresca added: “I don’t think so. I try to be honest. I spoke with Raheem before the City game. I said he’s going to struggle to get minutes with us and this is the reason.
“With Chilly, he is a lovely guy but he will struggle. If you define this as brutal, it’s up to you to decide. For me, it’s not brutal, it’s just honest.”
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Pushed on whether Chilwell and Sterling will play if they end up remaining at Stamford Bridge, Maresca continued: “We’ll see. Now is a bit early. We have 10 days for the transfer window. Many things can happen in the last week, the last 10 days.”
Chelsea have come under pressure over the volume of players they’ve purchased in recent years and Conor Gallagher is one player who is paying the price for the Blues’ aggressive buying.
On Gallagher’s transfer to Atletico Madrid, which was confirmed on Wednesday, Maresca said: “Many clubs are selling players from academies. I mentioned the other day, we have Totti with Roma for 20 years, we all love that. But the rules are a bit different and sometimes you need to sell your academy players for 100%. This is the situation.
“In the way we want to play, unfortunately Romeo last year was not fit. This year, he has started very well. He is a big help. Then we have Enzo, that in terms of personality and character is quite strong. We are okay in the way we are.”
