As well as Davies: INEOS make £200k-a-week Chelsea outcast their ‘top transfer target’ in January

According to CaughtOffside, Manchester United have made Ben Chilwell their ‘top transfer target’ to bolster the left-back position.

It’s unfathomable that, to strengthen the most injury-plagued position – currently occupied by long-term absentees Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia – the club would then turn to an equally injury-prone player with hopes of him somehow improving the situation.

Yet, that is reportedly the case, and it’s not the first time the Red Devils have found themselves linked to the £200,000-a-week Chelsea outcast. 

Chilwell, 27, has been almost entirely exiled from the Blues’ first team since Enzo Maresca took the reins in June, having made only one 45-minute appearance since the term began. It came in the side’s 5-0 Carabao Cup win over Barrow in September, with the defender omitted from the squad in each of Chelsea’s opening seven Premier League matches and two Conference League outings. 

Under Mauricio Pochettino last term, Chilwell made only 13 league appearances. He missed 14 fixtures through a hamstring setback, four through illness and a further five through knee problems. The only player you could compare such a torrid record to is Shaw, who last featured for United in February. 

It’s safe to say that if INEOS did accelerate their interest in the England international, it wouldn’t go down well with supporters. 

United add Chilwell to fullback shortlist

Elsewhere, they are said to be monitoring other options, one being Alphonso Davies. His contract expires with Bayern Munich next June, but it is widely expected that he’ll complete a move to Real Madrid, given their longstanding interest in the world-class fullback. 

Alvaro Carreras, a player United let go for only £5 million in the summer, is also on the club’s radar. They have a buyback clause worth £16.7m, although recent reports have suggested that he, too, would prefer a move to the Santiago Bernabeu if he were to leave Benfica in the near future.

The U21 Spain international spent three years in Madrid’s academy before moving to England in 2020 and left in May without ever making a senior appearance in red.