Chelsea ended their recent winless run with a 2-0 victory against Everton on Saturday afternoon.
Cole Palmer marked his return to the starting XI with a goal at Stamford Bridge, before defender Malo Gusto doubled the Blues’ advantage in west London.
The win moves Chelsea up to fourth in the Premier League table, with Enzo Maresca’s side sitting eight points behind league leaders Arsenal.
Next up for Chelsea is a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie against League One side Cardiff City in the Welsh capital on Tuesday, before a trip to face Newcastle United in their next Premier League outing.
Away from the action, however, it appears that the London side are in prime position to sign a midfielder from one of their fiercest rivals.
As per CaughtOffside, the Blues are leading the race to land Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo next year.
The report claims that Chelsea – along with German champions Bayern Munich – are in pole position to sign the Englishman, who has fallen out of favour at Old Trafford of late.
Mainoo has attracted interest from a dozen clubs (Photo: Spirtimage Ltd/Alamy)
Mainoo, 20, is a product of United’s youth system and enjoyed an impressive breakthrough campaign during the 2023/24 season, but fell somewhat down the pecking order when Ruben Amorim took charge of the club late last year.
So far this season the young midfielder has made just 11 appearances across all competitions, and hasn’t started a single one of United’s 11 Premier League games.
The report suggests that as many as 12 clubs are showing interest in the midfielder, who is under contract at Old Trafford until the end of the 2026/27 campaign.
Mainoo is said to have pushed for a loan move away from United over the summer, but he was ultimately prevented from departing.
Now, it is claimed that the player is keen to depart United in January in order to secure regular first team football and maximise his chances of being included in the England squad for next summer’s World Cup in the United States.
Despite Chelsea seemingly being in a promising position to sign the player, it is claimed that Mainoo’s preference is to join Serie A champions Napoli.