Manchester United and Chelsea are both interested in and keeping tabs on highly-rated Middlesbrough defender and England under-21 international Dael Fry
According to an exclusive from Teamtalk, Manchester United and Chelsea are set to lock horns on the transfer market again, this time for an English Under-21 international. Middlesbrough defender Dael Fry is on the radar of the two Premier League heavyweights, who are tracking the player in the Championship.
Dael Fry has emerged from the academy setup at Middlesbrough and has managed to grab eyeballs after establishing himself as a regular in the starting eleven alongside Ben Gibson, who himself was a Chelsea target this summer and continues to generate interest from the Premier League clubs.
Manchester United are interested in Dael Fry, with Chelsea reportedly also monitoring the 20 year old defender.
[Daily Mail] pic.twitter.com/Xs4BMbjnmN
— ً (@TraffordVoice) October 3, 2017
11 appearances into the 2017-18 campaign, the player seems to have found his footing in the first-team setup and is flourishing under the tutelage of manager Garry Monk, who himself had an admirable footballing career as a centre-back.
Manchester United have enough options at the position, with Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Chris Smalling all part of the first-team setup while the likes of Axel Tuanzebe and Ro-Shaun Williams wait in the wings for their opportunities.
Chelsea too, have Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill, Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and David Luiz with several youngsters biding their time. But, the two teams never fail to recruit hot prospects into their side an seems to have identified the 20-year-old as one after watching his performances closely.
Fry signed a 5-year deal last term with Middlesbrough, committing his future to the club. The player has also been called up to Aidan Boothroyd’s under-21 squad for the present international break and is set to represent the Three Lions against Scotland at the Riverside this week.
Congratulations to @Daelfry1, who is @MOTDmag‘s Young Lion of the Month! ???
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— Middlesbrough FC (@Boro) October 3, 2017
Fry was a member of the World Cup winning under-20 England squad, whose players have either earned moves to better clubs or have generated mass interest in their services. The 20-year-old has been no exception and Garry Monk has been quick to take note of the player’s talent, using him as a regular part of the first-team side at Middlesbrough.
While there is interest in the player, Fry is expected to continue his development at Middlesbrough for the 2017-18 campaign at least. Who knows, he might just earn a move to a bigger club before his more illustrious senior Ben Gibson by the summer of 2018.
