Chelsea, Manchester United ‘battle’ over Lille’s Boubakary Soumaré — report

According to a report from Sky Sports, Chelsea and Manchester United are the two clubs left standing in a clash for the signature of Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumaré this month.

Soumaré previously had Arsenal, Real Madrid and Valencia reportedly also interested in his services. But it looks like they’ve all given up, leaving only the two top-four contenders in the chase for the 20-year-old.

At Lille since 2017 after spending six years of his youth at Paris Saint-Germain, Soumaré’s become a key player this season after spending the first two seasons more as a rotational option. He’s made 20 starts for the club already in all competitions, including 6 in the Champions League where he also faced Chelsea twice in the group stages. His playing style has drawn comparisons to his compatriot Paul Pogba.

While that sounds great, it still feels like Soumaré would be a bit too much for a squad that already has three or four very capable players when they are healthy. And while our ongoing injury issues might force our hand into signing someone like Soumaré, he seems more like a project that will require some time to develop, than a stop-gap for purposes like this.