Manchester United have suffered a setback in their pursuit of Ben Chilwell after Chelsea emerged as the frontrunners to land the Leicester City left-back.
England international Chilwell is seen as one of the best full-backs in the Premier League and has spent his whole career with the Foxes.
The Red Devils are keen to bolster their defensive ranks and, despite boasting Luke Shaw at left-back, under-fire manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is believed to have identified Chilwell as his top target.
However the Daily Mail has reported that Chelsea are indeed favourites to land the 22-year-old defender and could step up their chase in January if they are allowed to make signings.
The Blues currently have a transfer ban for breaching FIFA rules on signing young players but have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
And, should their two-transfer ban be overturned or reduced, Frank Lampard will look to bring the highly-rated Chilwell to Stamford Bridge.
The news will be a huge blow to Solskjaer, who is ready to splash £130million on Leicester duo James Maddison and Chilwell in January.
The Red Devils have endured a tough start to the season and currently sit 12th in the Premier League having only won twice so far this season.
Solskjaer is expected to dip into the transfer market in January in an attempt to strengthen his squad - with a striker his No.1 priority, having allowed Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku depart in the summer.
United have sent scouts to watch Maddison and Chilwell during their matches against Tottenham , where the former scored the winner, and Liverpool .
The pair would likely replace Jesse Lingard and Luke Shaw in United's first choice starting XI.
