Manchester United and Aston Villa are both leading Chelsea in the transfer race to sign a player who could prove to be a viable alternative to Declan Rice in the form of Boubacar Kamara.
Kamara, 22, sees his contract in Ligue 1 expire at the end of the season, with Marseille considering cashing in this month on the former Blues target and a trio of Premier League clubs said to be interested.
Alongside the aforementioned duo, Newcastle United have also reportedly registered an interest for Marseille's No.4, but nothing concrete has come from the Magpies thus far.
Therefore this has allowed the Red Devils among other clubs to move ahead of the competition in the race for Mateo Guendouzi's club teammate.
Marca have reported that the Manchester United board want to secure Kamara's services before the January deadline and apparently, they are in pole position to sign him.
Ralf Rangnick's need for a defensive midfielder is apparent with Nemanja Matic the only natural option in that specific position with Scott McTominay and Fred seeing their fair share of criticism this season in a deep-lying midfield two.
With the likes of Donny Van de Beek and Jesse Lingard expected to leave Old Trafford in due course, it's easy to see why Kamara is now on a list of midfield targets that Rangnick and co. are looking at ahead of potential transfer swoops.
Denis Zakaria, Amadou Haidara and Declan Rice are a few names admired by the Man United hierarchy, but Kamara would command a much lower fee due to his contract situation and is a feasible deal to agree this month compared to the others.
For Aston Villa, their interest in the player has signalled Steven Gerrard's intent to add further depth to a squad that has been bolstered by the signings of Lucas Digne and Philippe Coutinho this month. The 22-year-old potentially moving to the west Midlands would demonstrate the club's eagerness to achieve a European finish in the near future.
Alternatively, with John McGinn's future in some doubt amid Man United links, the Ligue 1 prospect could be the perfect replacement if the Scotsman was to leave in the summer.
Regardless of what happens, one thing that is for certain is that the Blues will most likely not be making a move for Kamara if he was to leave this month with football.london understanding that signing a new left-wing-back is the only priority for Thomas Tuchel as we approach the latter stages of the January transfer window.
But as Fabrizio Romano has hinted, despite the interest of Man United and Aston Villa, a summer transfer is what is on the player's mind - which could keep the current European Champions in the race for now.
He said on United fan channel The United Stand: "Yes, there is interest around the player for a long time.
"We said in December, he's a player that is appreciated by United but I want to be clear- I'm told that there are no negotiations between Manchester United and Marseille.
"The players priority would be to stay until the end of the season and then leave as a free agent in the summer, as he would be able to pick his favourite destination in the summer."
Will he pick Chelsea though?
With the wealth of experience coupled with the abundance of options in midfield, that's highly doubtful with more game time likely to be offered at other clubs.
On top of this, with the likes of Saul Niguez and Ross Barkley likely to depart at some point soon, either this month of the upcoming summer, Marina Granovskaia has got her eyes on Rice and Aurelien Tchouameni as primary targets for the midfield role that may need some refreshing soon.
