Chelsea see big-money offer ‘rejected’ for €100m target; Man Utd also keen on eye-catching Portugal star

Chelsea have reportedly seen a big-money offer rejected by Benfica for top defender Antonio Silva, who is also a target for Manchester United.

The Premier League giants are both keen to add a quality defender to their squads this month as they eye a stronger second half of the season.

Chelsea and Man Utd have both underperformed this term, with the duo sitting in eighth and 10th position in the Premier League table respectively.

Silva is thought admired by Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag, and fresh reports from Portugal suggest that Chelsea have made the first move for his signature.

Benfica have enjoyed Silva’s services throughout his entire career so far after developing him within their academy.

The 20-year-old  has 67 appearances to his name for the club, including 23 this season. Silva has also been capped seven times by the Portugal national team.

Silva is only expected to improve as he gains experience, so could prove to be an excellent long-term addition for Chelsea or Man Utd. However, he certainly won’t come cheap.

READ MORE: Chelsea transfer gets ‘here we go’ from Fabrizio Romano as medical pencilled in for Wednesday

Chelsea see offer ‘over €60m’ rejected by Benfica 

According to A Bola, the Blues ‘tried to seduce Benfica with an offer in excess of €60m (approx. £51.6m) for Silva,’ but it was swiftly rejected by the Portuguese giants. 

Benfica has reportedly responded to ‘requests from Chelsea and Man Utd’ by ‘pointing to the €100m (approx. £86m) release clause in his current contract, which expires in 2027.’

They expect Silva’s value to keep rising and think a club will likely match his release clause at some point in the future.

As a result, a move for Silva this winter ‘will be very unlikely’ as Benfica ‘have no interest in selling him before the end of the season.’

Chelsea and Man Utd would therefore ‘have to at least get close to the €100m figure’ to have any chance at a mid-season deal.

As revealed by TEAMtalk, the Blues are expected to part ways with Trevoh Chalobah this window and are therefore be looking to bring in a new defender.

As for Man Utd, they look set to put their focus on Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo as they are very unlikely to spend €100m on Silva this month.

Silva seems destined to make the switch to the Premier League one day, but a summer move seems like the most likely outcome for the talented youngster at this stage.

DON’T MISS: Ratcliffe steps up eye-catching Man Utd move for Liverpool heroes as damaging Newcastle raid is rebuffed