Chelsea Plan To Hijack Man Utd’s Move With €41m Bid For Brazilian Ace

The January transfer window is now closed but that won’t stop the newspapers from speculating ahead of the summer so we’ll bring you all the news and gossip. Today, Chelsea join the race for Man Utd target Marquinhos….

Chelsea are ready to try and hijack Manchester United’s attempts to sign Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos this summer, according to reports.

The Brazilian international has been with PSG since joining the club from Roma for €41m (£30m) in 2013 and he’s widely regarded as one of the best young defenders in European football.

When he’s managed to force his was into Laurent Blanc’s starting eleven, the 20-year-old has been impressive but unfortunately he’s struggled to establish himself as a regular as the French coach prefers David Luiz and Thiago Silva as his main centre-back pairing.

It’s led to speculation linking Marquinhos with a move away from the Parc des Prince and Manchester United have been strongly linked with a move for the centre-back, with reports claiming they made a firm enquiry over his services back in January.

Louis van Gaal is believed to be ready to renew his interest at the end of the season as he looks to bring in a centre-back he can build his defence around but it seems he’ll now face stiff competition from Chelsea as the Daily Star claim that Jose Mourinho is ready to try and lure the youngster to Stamford Bridge this summer.

Marquinhos excelled during PSG’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the Champions League last month and it appears he left a lasting impression as the newspaper suggests that Mourinho is going to sanction a €41m (£30m) offer in a bid to beat United to his signature.

However, PSG have always maintained they aren’t interested in selling so the Star state that Chelsea or United may have to pay in excess of €55m (£40m) in order to persuade the Ligue 1 champions to cash in.

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It remains to be seen whether the Premier League giants will be willing to stretch that far but Marquinhos would be an excellent addition if either club could get a deal agreed this summer.

The Brazilian is predominantly a central defender but he’s also capable of playing at right-back so he’d give van Gaal or Mourinho plenty of options in defence if they were able to lure him to England, and he’s still only young so has years ahead of him to develop even further.