LONDON - Chelsea are ready to lock horns again with Manchester United in a bid to sign right back Serge Aurier from Paris Saint-Germain.
Antonio Conte has made no secret of his desire to strengthen his squad before the market closes and the Premier League champions are confident of landing four more signings.
Aurier, 24, is a strong right back who likes to attack and is likely to cost around £27million as PSG seek to offset some of the £199m spent on Neymar.
The French club have already signed Dani Alves on a free from Juventus this summer.
United have been on Aurier’s trail for some time and are favourites to sign the Ivory Coast international if he wins an appeal against a prison sentence for assaulting a police officer last year.
His case was in court yesterday as Jose Mourinho cleared Timothy Fosu-Mensah to join Crystal Palace on loan for the coming season.
Meanwhile, fullback Kieran Trippier is set to miss the start of the season as Tottenham Hotspur assess the severity of the ankle injury he suffered in a friendly against Juventus.
Initial tests were inconclusive and he will have further examinations as soon as the swelling goes down. But Spurs fear the damage may be more serious than they thought on Saturday after the match.
Trippier is not expected to be fit for the opener at Newcastle on Sunday, which comes as a blow for the 26-year-old England international, who had been earmarked as first-choice right wing back following Kyle Walker’s £54million move to Manchester City.
It also leaves Mauricio Pochettino with an immediate problem because he admits 20-year-old Kyle Walker-Peters is not ready to step into the first team. Left wing back Danny Rose is also out with a long-term knee injury.
Tottenham, having abandoned the pursuit of Ricardo Pereira from Porto, have turned instead to Valencia right back Joao Cancelo, who is valued at £25m and also wanted by Juventus.