Man Utd in pole position ahead of Chelsea to sign £60m star this summer

Manchester United have moved into pole position ahead of Chelsea to sign Leicester City’s £60m-rated full-back Ben Chilwell this summer, according to The Sun.

Chilwell came through the youth ranks at Leicester before breaking into the first team set-up in 2015 and he’s gone on to develop into one of the most exciting young full-backs in the Premier League over the past few years.

The 23-year-old has cemented himself as a regular under Brendan Rodgers having made 123 appearances and he’s also made his mark at international level after earning 11 caps for the senior England team after representing his country at various youth levels.

Chilwell’s impressive form has alerted several top English clubs as The Sun claims Chelsea have identified him as a key transfer target this summer while Manchester City are also thought to be eyeing the Leicester man as a replacement for Benjamin Mendy.

Frank Lampard has already splashed the cash on attackers Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech but the Chelsea boss is also expected to strengthen his defence and a new left-back is required with both Emerson Palmeiri and Marcos Alonso tipped for moves this summer.

The Blues appeared to be leading the race to sign Chilwell, however, The Sun claim Manchester United have now moved into pole position after becoming the latest club to express their interest in signing the England international.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to be busy in the market this summer as he looks to build a squad capable of competing for major honours next season and it appears Chilwell had emerged as a transfer target for the United boss.

The news may come as a surprise to some Man Utd fans as Luke Shaw has finally found some consistent form at left-back this season while youngster Brandon Williams has also made the breakthrough into the first team set-up.

So a new left-back didn’t appear to be on the agenda, however, The Sun seems to think Solskjaer is in fact looking to strengthen his options on the left side of his defence and a move for Chilwell is a distinct possibility.

Leicester will be desperate to keep hold of the player and are in a strong negotiating position as Chilwell’s contract runs until 2024 so the newspaper reports suggests a deal would cost the likes of United and Chelsea around £60m.

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming weeks but it looks like Man Utd, Chelsea and maybe even Man City are ready to do-battle to sign Chilwell and I think he’d be an excellent addition for any of those top teams.