Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea could be thwarted in their respective bids to sign Federico Chiesa, as the Juventus star is holding out for a big transfer to Manchester United, according to reports.
Chiesa has long been touted for a switch to the Premier League. He has repeatedly been named as a potential successor to Mo Salah at Liverpool ever since he played a starring role in Italy winning the Euros in 2021. A move to Anfield has never materialised, but Chiesa is now closer than ever to leaving Juventus.
The winger, who can play on either flank or at centre-forward if required, has entered the final year of his Juve contract. This has seen chiefs at the Italian club, plus new manager Thiago Motta, give his potential sale the green light.
Juve are aware that Chiesa is one of the bigger names in their first-team squad, and he should therefore garner plenty of interest. Plus, his departure would give Juve more funds as they look to continue reshaping Motta’s squad.
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On Wednesday, the Italy ace supposedly ‘said yes’ to a transfer to Tottenham, who have been heavily linked with him in recent months. It was subsequently claimed that Tottenham have agreed a €30-35million (£25-29.5m) package with Juve to put themselves on the verge of landing him.
However, Spurs still have not finalised the signing, and this has allowed other Premier League clubs to enter the frame.
On Sunday, Chelsea initiated contact to see if they can win the race for Chiesa. And there has now been a double update on the attacker’s future.
Corriere dello Sport state that Chiesa’s agent has flown to London to hold ‘face-to-face talks’ with both Spurs and Chelsea, as he aims to resolve his client’s situation.
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But fellow Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport throw a major spanner in the works, claiming that Chiesa is actually eager to sign for Man Utd.
The 26-year-old ‘favours’ the major profile Man Utd would be able to offer him and ‘prefers’ a switch to Old Trafford at this stage.
Man Utd are currently prioritising deals for other players such as Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui. They have been linked with Chiesa in the past though, and it seems if they enter the transfer battle then the player will try to force through a move to Old Trafford.
This update comes at an intriguing time, as Paris Saint-Germain are stepping up their efforts to sign Man Utd winger Jadon Sancho – though it will be a tough deal to complete – while Antony is facing a very uncertain future.
Sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk transfer insider Fraser Gillan that Man Utd are ready to offload the expensive Brazilian at a huge loss.