Chelsea have made a shock enquiry about Harry Maguire's availability amid growing doubts around the centre-back's future at Manchester United, according to a report from The Daily Mail. The England international has faced plenty of criticism in recent times but is of interest to the Blues as they struggle to complete a deal for Leicester City's Wesley Fofana.

Chelsea have even raised the idea of Maguire moving to Stamford Bridge as part of a swap deal that would see U.S. captain Christian Pulisic head to Old Trafford. As ESPN's James Olley reported earlier this week, Manchester United have expressed interest in 23-year-old Pulisic for a possible loan.

Pulisic is set to hold talks with Chelsea about his future, which could include Pulisic pushing to leave the club despite two years remaining on his contract. This comes as Pulisic has found himself shuffled around at Chelsea and not looking integral to manager Thomas Tuchel's plans ahead of the World Cup in November.

Fofana does still remain the priority signing for Tuchel's side, with growing optimism that a deal could be completed after the Frenchman asked to be left out of Leicester's squad to face Southampton on Saturday. Even so, Chelsea's interest in Maguire will be seen as a very interesting development due to questions surrounding whether or not the 29-year-old figures into Erik ten Hag's plans.

The report even suggests that it has been seriously considered that Maguire could not be picked to face Liverpool on Monday. This comes with Raphael Varane pushing for a place in the team after watching on from the bench while United have endured a terrible start to the season, losing against Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford.

PAPER GOSSIP

- Paris Saint-Germain still dream of signing Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva, according to L'Equipe. The Ligue 1 champions have come up against difficult negotiations, but have moved back in again with Luis Campos wanting to sign him and Christophe Galtier feeling that he would have liked to have the Portugal international available for the Lille match on Sunday.

- Barcelona are looking to bring in a new right-back and Foot Mercato have suggested that Stade Rennais' Hamari Traore is one of the players they are considering signing to fill that position. He has received interest from Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Frankfurt, Crystal Palace and clubs in Qatar this summer but none have taken action, meaning Barcelona would face little competition if they opt to move for the Mali international.

- West Ham United are closing in on a deal for Chelsea left-back Emerson Palmieri, reports Fabrizio Romano, who adds that the two clubs are willing to agree on a fee of £13m plus an extra £2m. The Italy international will now discuss personal terms ahead of a permanent departure from Stamford Bridge, with some details still to be clarified over the weekend before a deal can be completed.

- Aston Villa have approached Southampton about a possible transfer for centre-back Jan Bednarek following Diego Carlos' injury, reports The Athletic. The Saints are willing to let the Poland international leave this summer, although there could be competition for Villa as he has received interest from across Europe.

- Negotiations remain ongoing between Club America and LAFC for Brian Rodriguez, as reported by Tom Bogert. The two clubs are getting closer but are still yet to reach an agreement, with the final deal expected to be in the region of $6 million to $7 million with a clause making LAFC entitled to some of the funds raised from any future move.

Source:
courtesy of ESPN

by Danny Lewis

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