Chelsea To Steal March On Manchester United With Bid For £45m Star

The transfer window may be closed but managers are working hard on their plans for the summer so we’ll bring you all the latest gossip from around the globe. Today, Chelsea are ready to bid for Toby Alderweireld….

Chelsea are ready to steal a march on Manchester United by launching a bid to sign £45m-rated Tottenham star Toby Alderweireld this summer, according to the Sun.

Alderweireld has been one of the best defenders in Europe since joining Tottenham from Atletico Madrid in 2015 following an impressive season on loan at Southampton.

However, the 29-year-old’s future is in serious doubt as he’s lost his first team place under Mauricio Pochettino after failing to agree terms over a new contract extension with the North Londoners.

Alderweireld’s current deal has just over one year left to run and Spurs have the option to trigger a one-year extension but that new deal would include a clause allowing the defender to leave for just £25m in 2019 – as long as any transfer is completed at least 14 days before the closure of the window.

The complex clause means Tottenham are expected to cash-in this summer while they can still command a decent fee with the Sun claiming they will demand around £45m for Alderweireld’s signature.

That sort of money is still an excellent deal for a player of his quality so understandably there is plenty of interest being shown with the newspaper saying Chelsea and Man Utd have expressed their interest.

Jose Mourinho is expected to strengthen his defence this summer as he looks to compete with Man City for the title and Alderweireld could be viewed as the ideal partner for Eric Bailly.

However, it looks like Chelsea are ready to steal a march on United as the Sun claims the Blues are set to formalise their interest in the Belgian international with a firm bid.

Roman Abramovich is pressing ahead with the clubs transfer business despite doubts over who’ll be in charge next season and the Chelsea owner seemingly wants Alderweireld to replace David Luiz – who’s expected to leave after falling out of favour.

It would be a big blow for Tottenham to lose Alderweireld as he’s a top class defender but the newspaper says Pochettino is already eyeing Ajax sensation Matthijs de Ligt as a replacement.

READ MORE–> Man Utd transfer news | Chelsea transfer news | Spurs transfer news

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop as there is still time for United to formalise their interest in Alderweireld but I think he’ll be an excellent signing for whoever ends up buying him this summer.