Chelsea have potentially been handed a considerable boost to their hopes of keeping Antonio Rudiger, with Manchester United having seemingly moved onto alternative targets.
The Red Devils have been linked with a move for the German defender on a number of occasions in the past as his contract continues to tick down.
Rudiger sees his current deal expire at the end of the current campaign and he would be available on a free transfer in the summer.
He has a number of interested parties chasing his signature including Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United.
However, the Old Trafford outfit might have dropped out of the race for the Chelsea man having made a move for Borussia Dortmund’s Swiss centre-back Manuel Akanji.
According to Sport Bild, the Red Devils have lodged an offer for the 26-year-old, although it is not disclosed how much they would be prepared to pay for the defender.
However, he is valued at £27m by transfermarkt so it could well be thought that it would take an offer in the region of that amount to tempt his current employers Dortmund into selling.
Should United complete a deal for Akanji, then it would surely be unlikely that they would then pursue Rudiger.
The Swiss defender would join the likes of Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly and Phil Jones in the central defensive ranks at Old Trafford - leaving very little room for more additions.
Any lack of a Manchester United move then would be extremely useful to Chelsea’s hopes of retaining Rudiger.
Amid continuing questions over his future, the former AS Roma man recently admitted that he is currently in the best form of his career.
Speaking in late February, he said: “It’s not about proving to someone else, just proving to myself.
“I think a career’s all about chapters. When you’re young it’s a different chapter.
“But this chapter, yeah, it’s some of the best football I’m playing.”
Rudiger retained his place in a much-changed Chelsea side on Wednesday as they beat Luton Town 3-2 in the FA Cup and was handed the captain's armband after Jorginho was substituted in the 76th minute at Kenilworth Road.
