Chelsea are reportedly planning to disrupt Manchester United’s attempts to secure the signings of Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise and Vitor Roque of Barcelona.
United are planning to reinforce their attacking department and both Olise and Roque have been mentioned to be targets for the club.
Chelsea prepared to offer players to beat United to Olise
Olise in particular is believed to be a player that INEOS and the United scouting division are in agreement about. The Red Devils were treated to a show of his ability and what he can bring to Old Trafford as he scored a sensational brace against them during the 4-0 hammering at Selhurst Park on Monday.
A recent report covered by The Peoples Person relayed that Chelsea had backed out of the race to land Olise but it has now been claimed that the Blues still want him and are even putting measures in place to beat interested parties like United to his services.
According to The Boot Room, Chelsea “are ready to offer players in exchange” to the Eagles in an effort to avoid paying his £60m release clause.
Options such as Armando Broja and Trevor Chalobah are believed to be “in the mix” while Mauricio Pochettino’s side are also understood to be prepared to hand them England international Raheem Sterling.
The problem for Chelsea is that Sterling – who has three years left on his hefty contract at Stamford Bridge – has no interest whatsoever in leaving the club as he knows he would almost certainly have to take a pay cut.
Sterling’s refusal to part ways with Chelsea could ultimately go a long way in spoiling the London club’s attempts to snatch Olise from under United’s nose.
United face competition for Roque
As mentioned, it’s not only Olise that Chelsea want to beat United to. Roque is also drawing attention from the 2021 Champions League winners.
It was recently relayed that Roque, who joined Barca just months ago, is already contemplating an exit from the Camp Nou as he’s unhappy with his situation under Xavi.
The Brazilian has only made 11 appearances since he joined them and his agent added fuel to the fire when he admitted that unless things improve, they will be looking for solutions in the summer transfer market.
United were mentioned as a possible destination for the 19-year-old striker. However, if the 20-time English champions intend to add him to their ranks, they will have to ward off competition from Chelsea if a report by Spanish newspaper AS is anything to go by.
The publication states, “Vitor Roque’s situation is about to become a volcano ready to explode. The forward, who has not been able to enjoy minutes since his arrival from Athletico Paranaense last January after paying his weight in gold (30 million fixed plus 31 in variables), is at a crossroads. While FC Barcelona is testing the option of a loan so that he can acclimatize to European football.”
“Old suitors like Tottenham [Hotspur], with whom almost everything was agreed upon before leaving for Camp Nou, or Napoli have once again knocked on the striker’s door, although they are not the only ones.”
“Other Premier clubs such as Manchester United and Chelsea would also have tested the possibility of signing him, although everything will depend on several departures beforehand.”
United must remain vigilant of Chelsea’s potential impact in the transfer market, particularly if they secure European football at the Reds’ expense.
In the case of Olise in particular, United cannot afford to give Chelsea the edge.
