Chelsea U-turn sparks Man Utd transfer battle

Tom Hancock

• Updated: 1 Jul 2023 09:12 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea could go head-to-head with Manchester United for Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa, after dropping their interest in Inter Milan’s Andre Onana – himself a target for Man Utd.

Both Premier League clubs are in the market for a new shot-stopper this summer, with the Blues having sold Edouard Mendy to Al-Ahli and David de Gea now a free agent after his United contract expired on Friday.

Kepa Arrizabalaga is still on the Blues’ books, but doubts remain over the world’s most expensive ‘keeper – while Man Utd look likely to bring in a new number one regardless of whether De Gea ultimately re-signs or not.

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According to football.london, though, Chelsea have dropped their interest in Onana due to Inter valuing him at more than £50m (€58m).

The report adds that the Blues now seem to be targeting Porto number one Costa – who has emerged as one of the best young goalkeepers in the game.

And, with Porto desperately needing to offload players in order to avoid breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, the Portugal international could potentially be available at a relatively knockdown price.

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Chelsea's new number one?

New Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is said to be content to go with Kepa as his first choice between the sticks next season – but, despite an upturn in form, the Spaniard still showed some of the same old fragilities last term.

Bluntly, the Blues could do better, and the impressive Costa would seem to be an option worth pursuing.

The 23-year-old established himself as Porto’s number one during the 2021/22 campaign, helping win that season’s Portuguese title – and he’s never looked back, going on to claim the gloves for the national team and starting all five of their games at last year’s World Cup.