Man Utd eye Chelsea defender Chalobah as part of new Sir Ratcliffe blueprint

Manchester United are interested in signing Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah this summer as part of a different approach to the summer transfer window.

United spent over £170million last summer to bring in Rasmus Hojlund, Mason Mount and Andre Onana, but finished a lowly eighth in the Premier League. The arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS team as part of a 27.7 per cent takeover in February has signalled a change of direction for the club – and that includes in the transfer market.

Ratcliffe is bringing in Southampton’s Jason Wilcox as technical director and wants Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth to become sporting director. The duo, along with INEOS chiefs Sir Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc, will oversee a change in direction, away from big-money signings to cheaper, young players with more potential.

Chalobah nearly left Chelsea for Bayern Munich last summer, while the German club revisited their interest in January, only for a loan offer to be rebuffed. Nevertheless, the Blues are willing to listen to offers for the centre-back, who – in typical Chelsea style – is under contract until June 2028, with the option of a further year.

The Independent reports that they want £25m to sell Chalobah, 24, this summer, who could help them comply with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules by June 30. Chalobah and midfielder Conor Gallagher are the most obvious homegrown players who could ease worries through a sale in the coming month, but the Evening Standard says both would prefer to stay at Chelsea.

United know they themselves need to sell players before they can spend money in the summer transfer window. The club are willing to listen to offers for just about every player, barring young trio Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and Hojlund.

Once they have offloaded some unwanted players, they will pursue targets under the age of 25 who have potential to get better and will fit a pressing style of play. Centre-back is a particularly important area, given United are about to lose Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans, while Victor Lindelof, Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire and Willy Kambwala all struggled with injuries this season.

Ratcliffe is a United fan and has previously been critical of the club’s wasteful approach in the transfer market, using the £52m spent on Fred and the £60m splashed out on Casemiro as examples. "They haven't got the manager selection right, haven't bought well," the petrochemicals billionaire told The Times in 2019. "They have been the dumb money, which you see with players like Fred. United have spent an immense amount since Ferguson left and been poor, to put it mildly. Shockingly poor, to be honest.

“We (INEOS) have a different approach here to be moderately intelligent about it – try to do it more grassroots, trying to locate young talent. Some clubs seem to have an ability to do that, Southampton, Lille. United have done it really poorly. They have lost the plot."