Manchester United’s desire for defensive reinforcements has been well-documented this season but Premier League rivals Chelsea could provide the biggest obstacle for one of their wishlist targets.
The Sun reports the Blues have outlined Internazionale’s Milan Škriniar as a January purchase as manager Maurizio Sarri looks to bolster the Chelsea backline.
Sarri is looking to keep pace at the top of the table with leaders of the pack Manchester City and Liverpool and with those teams possessing two of the most impressive defences in Europe at the moment, a signing like Škriniar for the West London club is surely the next step to compete.
Talks haven’t been forthcoming to extend the 32-year-old David Luiz’s contract, despite the defender returning to a high plateau under Sarri, in his topsy-turvy Chelsea career, Luiz is seemingly now at the end of his second spell despite starting and completing every single league fixture so far this season
Nine years the Brazilian’s junior, Skriniar could foreseeably be a mainstay of the Chelsea defence for years to come, but Inter have reportedly slapped a whopping £70million price-tag on the Slovakian in order to get in line with UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations.
Škriniar has been at Inter for a little over a year since completing a move for rival Serie A side Sampdoria but in his inaugural season didn’t miss a single minute of action across the 38-game season, helping the Nerazzurri to Champions League qualification once again.
His form and intrinsicity to the Inter set-up has raised the attentions of Manchester United simultaneous with their failure to bring in an established centre-back, with names such as Harry Maguire and Toby Alderweireld slipping through their fingers in the summer.
With Chelsea and Manchester United undoubtedly both well aware that they are again in direct competition for a top four finish this season, neither side would enjoy such a valuable asset as Škriniar to be poached by the other.
Little over a month remains until the transfer reopens and even for the neutral this could be a transfer saga to enjoy as the two rivals try and wrench the defender into their side.