Chelsea, Manchester United To Lock Horn For Arsenal’s Failed Interest
Jan 3, 2017 at 5:19 PM
According to the Daily Star, Premier League duo Chelsea and Manchester United have entered the £20m race of Napoli defender Elseid Hysaj, who has attracted the attention of several top clubs.
The highly-rated Albania international starred at Euro 2016 tournament has been heavily linked with a January move to the Premier League.
However, Man United manager Jose Mourinho is far from alone in his admiration of the 22-year-old Hysaj and that puts any proposed transfer to United in doubt.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte watched an impressive rise on Albanian right-back in Italy first-hand and is monitoring developments surrounding the player’s future at Napoli.
Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger once saw Elseid Hysaj as an ideal replacement for Hector Bellerin but his interest faded once the Spanish full-back agreed a new six-year deal in October.
It is believed that Manchester City are also determined to join the race as Guardiola searches for world-class talent to strengthen his options in the right-back position.
However, Napoli have qualified for Champions League knockout phase and it is believed that they are in no mood to do any business with anybody in next month’s window.
The highly-rated defender is quick and strong with huge reserves of stamina. Hysaj is not just an athlete, though—he’s technically gifted and positionally intelligent. What’s perhaps most striking about him is his ability to play on either side of the defence. Although principally a right-back, Hysaj is equally comfortable when deployed as the left full-back.
Hysaj has passed every test so far, and few would bet against him succeeding at a club the size of Chelsea or Manchester United with a chance to enjoy regular Champions League football.