Todd Boehly to ask Thomas Tuchel if he wants Cristiano Ronaldo at Chelsea

Cristiano Ronaldo intends to leave Manchester United this summer - AFP
Cristiano Ronaldo intends to leave Manchester United this summer - AFP
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Todd Boehly will check with Thomas Tuchel whether or not he wants Chelsea to make a bid for Cristiano Ronaldo as the club attempts to wrap up a move for Raheem Sterling ahead of the squad’s departure for their US tour.

Ronaldo has informed Manchester United that he wants to leave this summer, which will prompt Chelsea co-owner Boehly, who is acting sporting director, to discuss the Portuguese with head coach Tuchel.

Tuchel is known to be an admirer of Ronaldo, but Telegraph Sport understands the German is yet to discuss with Boehly whether or not he would actually want to sign the 37-year-old and whether or not he believes he could fit into his team and style of play.

Some sources have indicated that Tuchel will tell Boehly that he would be wary of signing Ronaldo and that the priority must be up to three new defenders, as well as Sterling.

Boehly has met with Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes, but will not sign any player his head coach does not want or does not believe is the right fit for his squad - effectively giving him the right of veto on any signing.

While Chelsea are aware Ronaldo could leave United, they have no idea whether or not their Premier League rivals would sell to them, how much they might demand or what the player’s requirements would be. Moves to source that information will only be made if Tuchel gives the green light.

Chelsea last week confirmed the departure of Romelu Lukaku on loan to Inter Milan and, other than Ronaldo, there are a lack of genuine out-and-out goalscoring strikers to target.

Thomas Tuchel is in the market for a forward - SHUTTERSTOCK
Thomas Tuchel is in the market for a forward - SHUTTERSTOCK

Ronaldo did not turn up for United training on Monday due to “family reasons”, which the club and management accepted as being a genuine reason.

A desire to play in the Champions League is thought to be behind Ronaldo’s intention to leave Old Trafford and, as well as Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Napoli have also been linked with the player. United are likely to be more open to selling to an overseas club.

With Ronaldo’s future unlikely to be cleared up quickly, Chelsea will continue to prioritise moves for their confirmed targets, such as Sterling who the club hope to make significant progress on this week.

Following positive talks at the end of last week, Chelsea hope to agree a fee, which will most likely top £45 million, and personal terms with Sterling in time for him to join Tuchel’s squad on the club’s pre-season tour of America, which they leave for this weekend.

Chelsea would ideally like to sign two new players ahead of the tour, with the club still trying to land a central defender alongside Sterling by the end of this week.

Talks have been held with Matthijs de Ligt, Nathan Ake, Jules Kounde, Presnel Kimpembe and Kalidou Koulibaly, with Chelsea needing to sign at least two new defenders this summer. Reports from Germany have claimed Bayern Munich have made their own approach to Juventus for De Ligt.

Chelsea also still have a £55m, plus add-ons, bid on the table for Raphinha, who is thought to prefer a move to Barcelona. Sources in Spain have indicated that if they cannot afford to match Chelsea’s offer this summer, then Barca could encourage the Brazilian to stay at Leeds United until January with the promise they will bid then.

Having offered personal terms that are broadly acceptable to Raphinha, it remains to be seen how long Chelsea will keep their bid on the table if there continues to be no answer from the player’s end.

Chelsea’s hopes of signing Raphinha hang in the balance - AFP
Chelsea’s hopes of signing Raphinha hang in the balance - AFP

Chelsea decided against joining the clubs who made offers to Christian Eriksen, who has agreed to join United on a three-year contract.

Eriksen spent the end of last season on loan with Brentford, scoring once in 11 Premier League games, and the Bees were desperate to keep him for the upcoming season.

Telegraph Sport understands that Brentford had made it clear to Eriksen that they would shatter their wage structure to keep him at the club, making him comfortably their highest-paid player.

Sources have indicated that clubs were informed that Eriksen wanted a contract worth £200,000-a-week, plus a £10m signing on fee, but it is unclear whether or not United have met those alleged demands.

Brentford hoped that their willingness to offer an opportunity to Eriksen earlier this year, and to then provide all the required medical support behind the scenes, would convince him to stay in west London.

Eriksen’s decision to move to United completes a reunion with new United manager Erik ten Hag, with the midfielder having trained informally at Ajax before resuming his career in England.

Eriksen’s decision to join United instead will force Brentford to pivot towards other targets. They are understood to be closing in on deals for Hull City forward Keane Lewis-Potter and Bologna and Scotland full-back Aaron Hickey.

Dutch left-back Tyrell Malacia arrived in Manchester on Monday morning to complete the second part of a medical and sign a contract after United agreed a £13m fee with Feyenoord.