Chelsea and Man Utd eye Walker-Peters swoop

According to talkSPORT, Chelsea and Manchester United are eyeing a swoop to sign Southampton right-back Kyle Walker-Peters.

The 25-year-old has made over 80 appearances for the Saints since joining from Tottenham Hotspur in 2020 and has been one of their best players over the past year having impressed on the right flank.

However, Walker-Peters is stalling on a new contract and the situation has alerted clubs in the upper echelons of the Premier League with talkSPORT claiming that Chelsea and Man Utd are keen on signing the player.

The report says Walker-Peters is ‘pushing’ for a move away from the south coast after refusing to sign a contract extension, and he’d no doubt jump at the chance of joining Chelsea or United.

The Blues are seemingly in the market for a new right-back after Reece James aggravated a knee injury. James recently made his long-awaited return but suffered a recurrence against Bournemouth. The England star is now unavailable until February and talkSPORT claim that Chelsea could be eyeing Walker-Peters to provide cover.

Chelsea have a conundrum on their hands with James’ worrying injury record. The 23-year-old returned to action as soon as the season restarted following the World Cup but went off injured within 53 minutes. Chelsea will no doubt handle him with extra caution after the fresh injury.

Competition

Walker-Peters would be a good back-up to have in the squad. Chelsea currently have Cesar Azpilicueta as the second-choice right-back but the Spaniard is no longer in his prime. The signing of Walker-Peters could allow Chelsea to prepare for the departure of Azpilicueta next summer.

However, the Londoners face competition as Manchester United have also identified the 25-year-old as a potential signing. Erik ten Hag is looking to bring in competition for Diogo Dalot – who has cemented himself as United’s first choice right-back this season.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka has fallen out of favour at Old Trafford and has been linked with a move this month, so Man Utd could target a move for Walker-Peters as a replacement.

It is unclear whether Southampton are willing to sell this month but they won’t let him go for cheap. The 25-year-old has another 30 months remaining in his contract and the Saints are still in a strong position to keep him if they wish.

Reports suggest that Chelsea or United may have to pay £40 million to sign the pacey full-back, so he won’t be a cheap option for either club.

Chelsea and Man Utd have also been linked with Inter Milan right-back Denzel Dumfries. The 26-year-old is better going forward than Walker-Peters but would cost £53 million. He is a more expensive target compared to Walker-Peters and may want the guarantee of first-team minutes so a deal for the Dutchman wouldn’t be easier either.