Chelsea are reportedly giving consideration to putting forward a proposal for Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
Towards the end of last month, it was widely claimed that Chelsea owner Todd Boehly had held discussions with super-agent Jorge Mendes, the representative of Ronaldo.
That development was quickly met with United stating that the 37-year-old - who is effectively tied to Old Trafford until 2024 - was not for sale.
However, further reports emerged at the weekend that the Portuguese superstar had requested to leave United should they receive an acceptable offer for his signature.
The veteran attacker is said to want to challenge for the Champions League during the latter stages of his career, something which will not occur at United during 2022-23.
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Although Boehly may welcome the opportunity to bring Ronaldo to Stamford Bridge, it remains unclear whether head coach Thomas Tuchel would fully support any approach made for the player.
Nevertheless, according to The Athletic, Chelsea are giving serious consideration to testing United's resolve as they look to make new additions.
The West Londoners have already allowed Romelu Lukaku to return to Inter Milan on a season-long loan deal, freeing up a space for a new centre-forward to arrive in his place.
While Chelsea are being linked with creative players such as Raheem Sterling and Raphinha, there does not appear to be any like-for-like alternatives to their club record signing currently in the offing.
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The report claims that Boehly, who is also acting as Chelsea's interim sporting director, and fellow director Behdad Eghbali are both "intrigued" by the prospect of signing Ronaldo.
Chelsea are said to be monitoring the situation, rather than preparing an immediate bid, with United not expected to back down from their current stance at this stage.
Ronaldo has allegedly been told that he must feature on United's upcoming pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia, but the legendary figure was given permission to delay a return to training on Monday for family reasons.
During his first year back at United, Ronaldo contributed 24 goals from 38 appearances in all competitions, but United still only finished in sixth place in the Premier League standings.
Ronaldo is said to have concerns over United's ability to challenge for silverware going forward, even with Erik ten Hag said to be on the brink of completing the double signing of Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen.
Darren Plant
