Man Utd battle Chelsea for highly-rated Roma defender Gianluca Mancini

Manchester United and Chelsea are shaping up to battle each other to sign Roma defender Gianluca Mancini.

The 24-year-old has impressed for Roma in all competitions this season, having joined the club on a permanent deal this campaign having previously been on loan.

Mancini has caught the eye of two of the Premier League's biggest clubs, who have an extra incentive to cash in this summer because of the defender's low price tag, according to The Express.

Roma are not keen to sell one of their prize assets. Mancini has played in all but three Serie A matches so far, helping keep seven clean sheets and scoring four goals. He has been capped four times for Italy.

The rising star even netted in Roma’s 3-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europa League Round of 16 first leg on Thursday, delivering an impressively assured performance on a big stage.

But with the coronavirus pandemic having crippled many clubs' finances, including Roma's, an offer in the region of £27million could reportedly tempt the club hierarchy to sell.

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made plain his desire to sign a new centre-back partner for club captain Harry Maguire.

While United are in talks with Eric Bailly over a new contract, Solskjaer is also said to be monitoring RB Leipzig's Ibrahim Konate and Sevilla's Jules Kounde.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are reportedly interested in taking Bayern Munich's Jerome Boating on a free transfer, and continue to target his club partner Niklas Sule.