Man United hold two secret weapons to hijack Chelsea invaluable January transfer

Chelsea's attempt to lure Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez to Stamford Bridge could be set to take a blow after it has emerged that Premier League rivals Manchester United have entered the race.

The Blues were understood to be very keen on signing the Mexico international in the late stages of the summer transfer window. Todd Boehly was a busy man in the closing days of the window with Wesley Fofana and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang signed for a combined £80 million but failed to sign Alvarez with a £43 million offer rebuffed.

However, they could now face competition to land the midfielder from Manchester United. Erik ten Hag's side were busy themselves in the summer with over £200 million spent on mass improvements to the side that finished outside the Premier League top four last season.

The Red Devils bombarded the Eredivisie champions in the summer with Lisandro Martinez and Antony joining Ten Hag at Old Trafford. Both players have adjusted to life in England and have played key parts in United's change of fortunes after falling to shock opening defeats to Brighton and Brentford.

ESPN (citing Calciomercato) have hinted that Alvarez's former teammates could give United an advantage should they decide to compete with Chelsea in January. The transfer saga could well be an interesting one with reports from Dutch outlet De Telegraaf claiming Ajax have given the green light to sell Alvarez following his World Cup campaign with Mexico.

Alvarez has been the source of conversation in the last week after Wesley Sneijder criticised his ability of playing out from the back and warned Chelsea to steer clear. However, former Premier League defender Rio Ferdinand was quick to disregard the Dutchman's comments after his performance against Liverpool in mid-week.

"I saw some comments from Wesley Sneijder saying that Ajax should have got rid of him when Chelsea put in a bid for him because he passes the ball backwards," he told BT Sport.

"But he does some of the stuff you don't normally see, definitely not Instagrammable. He does the stuff when he breaks the play up and allows the more creative players to go and perform. These types of players are so invaluable and you appreciate them so much because they give you the platform to go and play the football Ajax love to play."