Manchester United and Chelsea are going into battle to secure the signature of Fiorentina forward Federico Chiesa, according to reports. The 22-year-old could be the versatile forward both clubs are seeking this summer as the coronavirus pandemic rages on throughout world football. Both United and Chelsea will require additions this summer.
Italian news source Gazzetta Dello Sport has reported that the Italian forward is being linked top for a move to the Premier League as he enters the last two years of his contract at the Florence club. The 22-year-old joined the club as a child from U.S. Settignanese in 2007, making his first team debut in 2016.
This season, in 26 appearances, Chiesa has scored seven goals, assisting five more whilst playing in the Serie A and the Coppa Italia. At the time the coronavirus pandemic stopped world football, Fiorentina were 13th in the table and seemingly not looking to battle for European football during the 2020/21 season, whenever it may start.
Chiesa is described as a winger, a position that United will be seeking to add to their squad this summer but has predominantly played as a centre-forward this season, playing a total of 21 times in that position, scoring six of his seven goals from that position. He has played as a left-winger three times and a right-winger twice, scoring his other goal.
United are seeking a striker with Nigerian Odion Ighalo the supposed number one target after he joined the club on a six-month loan in January, playing eight times, scoring four goals and one assist in that time. However, the player has a lucrative offer from his club, Shanghai Shenhua, so United may nee other targets.
After selling Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan last summer, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer chose not to reinforce his attack last summer, which was something that saw United stutter at times this season. The trio of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood have done well but United needed something more up front to score more goals.
Chiesa could also be an option to play on the right wing with United reported to be hotly interested in signing Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund this summer, also with Kai Havertz of Bayer Leverkusen another option. However, with Chiesa playing few games in that position, it would seem unlikely that he would be a right-wing target.
The 22-year-old is reportedly fluent in English, which adds to the speculation surrounding a move to the Premier League. He could be a good player for either United or Chelsea and is in the early stages of his career but has played 139 times at senior level for his club, scoring a total of 29 goals and a further 20 assists in all competitions.
Chelsea may be more in need of a player like Chiesa though considering that they are likely to lose Willian, Pedro and Olivier Giroud on free transfers this summer, whenever the transfer window opens. Juventus have also been credited with an interest in the Italian, along with Inter Milan with Fiorentina seeking to secure him to a new contract also.
