Man Utd ‘reject opportunity’ to sign England star in double deal after Chelsea talks break down

Man Utd have been locked in talks for two days with Chelsea over a potential deal for Ben Chilwell, according to reports.

The Red Devils could be active in the final days of the transfer window despite getting the majority of their business done quite early this year.

Erik ten Hag’s side have already brought in Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, while Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte is about to be officially announced.

There have been claims in recent days that Man Utd and Chelsea are working on a potential swap deal which would see Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho switch clubs .

But now it’s Sterling’s team-mate Chilwell who is at the centre of the speculation with Man Utd said to be exploring a move for the England left-back.

The Independent claimed that Man Utd and Chelsea have ‘stepped up talks’ over a possible deal for Chilwell, which is thought to be ‘separate to negotiations over Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling’.

The two Premier League outfits ‘have been in constant negotiation over the last two days’ with Man Utd looking for cover at left-back if Luke Shaw gets injured.

The report adds:

‘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.’

However, The Independent journalist Miguel Delaney later posted on social media that Man Utd ‘have rejected the opportunity to move for Chilwell’ but that Sterling is ‘still being discussed’.

The updated story later read :

‘Manchester United are not acting on the availability of Ben Chilwell, despite Chelsea raising the prospect of a deal in ongoing talks between the two clubs.

‘Executives of both have been discussing whether they can resolve a number of squad issues with mutually beneficial deals, particularly the futures of Raheem Sterling, Jadon Sancho and Chilwell.

‘The left-back had been proposed by Chelsea due to United’s struggles in that area with Luke Shaw’s injury record, but the Old Trafford hierarchy have decided to press on with their own options. It is understood the figures involved in any prospective deal, as one factor, were way apart.’

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Former Man Utd striker Teddy Sheringham insists he has “lots of sympathy” for Sterling’s plight at Chelsea with the player getting “forced out”.

Sheringham told Prime Casino : “I’ve been around similar situations before. A footballer getting forced out of a club isn’t anything new, it’s something you’ll see plenty of times during your professional career.

“What happens next with Sterling? Does he dig in or does he move on? That will all depend on him and his mentality. I’ve known players that have been in the same situation and have said: ‘Pay me up and I’ll leave, otherwise I’m not going anywhere.’

“I’ve seen players do it the other way, players that have felt so disrespected by the club and its owners or the manager, that they can’t wait to get out of their as quickly as possible.

“This is probably a decision that has come from the top of the club and Maresca has been told by the owners to make Sterling feel very, very unwanted. Football is a law unto itself in these situations.

“It’s horrible to watch and I have lots of sympathy for Raheem Sterling because I’ve been in and around dressing rooms where this happens, and you know how much it will have affected the player. If he sat on his contract, it would hurt the owners. It would hurt the club. This is one of those situations where everyone is showing a poker face.

“I’m sure there will be some kind of agreement brokered because it’s not good for Sterling to waste the best years of his career not playing, and it’s not good for the club to be paying a player £350,000 a week that they don’t want to keep.

“I don’t know Raheem well enough to say confidently what he will chose to do. He hasn’t done anything wrong at Chelsea, he signed a deal that the club gave him. They’ll be all kinds of skullduggery happening behind the scenes to resolve this, but I’m standing with the player here.”