Ten Hag to miss Man Utd's best goal as Chelsea 'clearly ahead' in £43m transfer race in January

Erik ten Hag looks set to be disappointed in his pursuit of one of his key January targets, according to a report which claims Chelsea are 'clearly ahead' in the transfer race.

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A report on Wednesday claimed that Ten Hag is keen to bring Inter Milan and Netherlands star Denzel Dumfries to Old Trafford in competition for Diogo Dalot.

Corriere dello Sport reported that Ten Hag had 'directly asked' Dumfries as he sought to sign a new right-back for United.

They add that the English club "have been in contact" with the player's agent with a view to agreeing a deal in January.

The Inter Milan defender is said to have a 'minimum asking price' of £43m and Ten Hag believes he would 'suit his United style'.

Dalot has performed brilliantly for United this season, but they are looking for a new right-back so they can sell Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

But Chelsea were linked with Dumfries while Thomas Tuchel was still in charge and he remains on their wishlist despite the German boss being replaced by Graham Potter, according to TuttoMercatoWeb (via Sport Witness< /em>).

The report claims that Chelsea are keen to secure his signature in January, but Inter would only agree to this if he were loaned to them for the rest of the season.

It is therefore claimed that any transfer would be "more in June than in January".

But "there have been and still are contacts" over Dumfries and Chelsea are "clearly the club ahead of" Manchester United and any other contenders.

It is helped by an already good relationship between the Blues and Inter following successful deals for Romelu Lukaku, back and forth, and Cesare Casadei, who arrived at Stamford Bridge for £11m this summer .

Reece James is believed to be set to return after a hamstring injury prevented him from representing England at the World Cup in Qatar, but his absence has proved costly for Chelsea, Potter wishing he had a similar option as a substitute or in competition. for the right aft berth.

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