LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 3: Chelsea's Ben Chilwell applauds his side's supporters at the end of the match during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge on February 3, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Andrew Kearns - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Ben Chilwell is on Manchester United’s radar (Getty)

Manchester United are considering a surprise move for Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell, according to reports.

Erik ten Hag struggled with the absences of Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia last season and required several players to provide a stopgap at left-back including Victor Lindelof, Diogo Dalot, Sofyan Amrabat and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

United are keen to strengthen their defensive options ahead of the new Premier League campaign and are already in talks to sign Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite and Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich.

However, United are also looking to to recruit a new left-back and according to MailOnline, the club have Chilwell on their shortlist of options.

United had held talks to sign Marc Cucurella but talks broke down as Chelsea’s demand for a £7 million loan fee was not met.

Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw playing for England
Manchester United are looking to sign competition for Luke Shaw at left-back (Getty)

Ten Hag’s side then moved to sign Sergio Reguilon on loan from Tottenham but ended up ended his temporary stint in January as they felt both Shaw and Malacia were close to returning.

Chilwell, meanwhile, started just nine Premier League games last season due to injury.

The 27-year-old, who Chelsea signed in a £50m deal from Leicester City in 2020, also missed out on a place in England’s Euro 2024 squad.

Elsewhere, Shaw insists he is fit to start England’s Euro 2024 semi final against the Netherlands on Wednesday evening.

The 28-year-old, who made just 15 appearances for United last season, returned from a five-month absence as a substitute in England’s penalty shootout win against Switzerland on Saturday.

‘The last four months have been really tough,’ Shaw said on Monday.

‘I think obviously, at the start I was expected to come back a lot sooner but, you know, I went through quite a few setbacks, to be honest. But I’m here now and it was really nice to get on the other night.

‘I’ve been itching to get some minutes. It’s been a long while but really pleased that I was able to get on the pitch and get some minutes, and of course, now hopefully get some more in the next game.’

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