Ben Chilwell could become a player of interest to Manchester City, who might make an approach on deadline day.
According to Daily Mail, Manchester City could approach Chelsea with a late offer for Ben Chilwell. Pep Guardiola could explore the market on deadline day for a new left-back after allowing Joao Cancelo to depart for Bayern Munich.
Monday surprised many from a Manchester City perspective, with the club allowing Joao Cancelo to leave and join Bayern Munich on loan. The Portuguese international has had a bad season. Reports suggest a training ground bust-up was the primary reason for his departure.
Bayern Munich have had injury problems this season and are short of full-backs as they enter a key part of the season. The Bavarians saw the opportunity with Cancelo and decided to bring the 28-year-old on a loan deal with a £61 million option to buy in June.
Meanwhile, there could be an opening in the squad for a new left-back at Manchester City. Considering Cancelo was a key component of Guardiola’s system since he joined from Juventus, he does leave a void in the team. Manchester City utilised Aymeric Laporte or Nathan Ake as left-back this season when Cancelo was not playing.
There is also Sergio Gomez, but the former Anderlecht defender has not proved his worth to Guardiola. Manchester City wanted a new first-team quality left-back last summer but refused to budge during negotiations with Brighton for Marc Cucurella.
Cucurella eventually joined Chelsea in a club-record sale for Brighton. Considering the Cancelo departure, Manchester City could enter the market on deadline day. Ben Chilwell is a player they are reportedly linked with for Tuesday.
Manchester City could make a late dash and approach Chelsea with an offer for the England international. Chelsea are not particularly stacked in the left-back position, but they might at least listen to an offer if it arrives. The Blues have shown openness towards late sales after Everton bid for Conor Gallagher.
In that case, they reopened talks to sign Enzo Fernandez from Benfica, so a midfielder might end up departing. In the case of Chilwell, they may not entertain offers for a player considered key in their system. Then there is the case of selling to Manchester City, something they will remain wary about.
Chelsea did manage to sign Raheem Sterling from Manchester City in the summer, and the Manchester club will hope they return the favour. The Chilwell interest could only be wild speculation from the media. Any move from this point on would come as a surprise, given so little time left in the window and the complications such a high-profile deal can generate.
