Manchester United join Chelsea in the £61m race to sign Juventus star Alex Sandro

Manchester United are reportedly ready to scupper Chelsea’s deal for Brazil international defender Alex Sandro, according to the Express.

The Premier League side, who face arch rivals Manchester City on Sunday in the top-flight, have been freshly linked with the Juventus left-back ahead of the forthcoming January transfer window.

The 26-year-old, who has 10 international caps for his country, has scored one goal and provided five assists in 16 appearances in all competitions for the defending Serie A champions so far this season.

Sandro, who joined the Italian giants in August 2015 following his €26m move from FC Porto, has netted six times in 91 outings overall for Juve, winning two Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia’s and finishing as a runner-up in the UEFA Champions League back in June.

Juventus’ Alex Sandro in action with Olympiacos’ Filipe Pardo.

The full-back was strongly linked with a move to Chelsea during the previous summer transfer window, but no deal eventually materialised.

Now, with Sandro understood to be looking for a way out of Juventus in the New Year, Premier League rivals United are set to match Chelsea’s interest in January, with the Turin club looking to pocket around £61m for his services.