Chelsea and Manchester United battling to sign Giorgio Scalvini from Atalanta

Chelsea and Manchester United have already made four signings between themselves but are yet to revamp their defensive departments after some underwhelming performances at the back last season. Sooner rather than later, both the Premier League giants will switch their focus towards signing defenders and a mutual target has already been identified.

According to Caught Offside, Chelsea and Man United are set to battle it out for Atalanta defender Giorgio Scalvini, who could leave the Serie A giants for £52 million. Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur are also keen on the Italian international, as are Inter Milan, Juventus and Napoli, although Le Dea would understandably prefer selling him to an overseas side.

Newcastle need younger central defenders but with Dan Burn and Sven Botman still going strong, they could wait for another year before making an investment in a younger name, whereas Spurs are already well-covered at the back and might not be keen on matching Atalanta’s asking price for Scalvini, hence putting Chelsea and Man United in good positions to battle it out for him.

Scalvini likelier to join Chelsea

Manchester United will need to sign a centre back this season as Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof have left as free agents but after spending lavishly on Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt less than a year ago, it remains to be seen if Ruben Amorim would like to fund another big-money signing in the position with a relatively measly transfer budget at his disposal.

That said, Chelsea have enough reasons to be confident that they would win a competitive race for the 21-year-old. They have not shied away from spending decent sums on younger players and Giorgio Scalvini’s experience on the highest level, particularly in the Champions League, will hold him in good stead at Stamford Bridge and help him become a regular fixture in the team.

At a towering 6ft 4in, he has a solid presence in the air and is also very composed and intelligent in one-on-one situations. He plays the ball out from the back also nicely, so he has all the attributes the Blues require. Gian Piero Gasperini has already endorsed him as a player who is ‘destined for greatness’, so Chelsea can be confident that their investment on him would pay off.