Chelsea and Manchester United boosted in their chase for Alex Sandro as Juventus identify replacement

Chelsea and Manchester United have been handed a major boost in their pursuit of Juventus defender Alex Sandro after the Italian giants identified a potential replacement for the left-back.

Chelsea are likely to be leading the chase for the left-back's signature having come close to signing him in the summer. He remains Antonio Conte's primary target to provide competition for current incumbent Marcos Alonso.

The Blues were on his trail throughout the summer transfer window with Italian publication Calcio Mercato reporting that they had agreed to financial terms only for Juventus to block the move as they had already parted with two defenders namely Leonardo Bonucci and Dani Alves to AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain, respectively.

The report claims that Juventus have since identified a replacement for the Brazilian and will be more open to allowing him to find pastures new either in January or at the end of the season. The Turin club are on the trail of Bayer Leverkusen left-back Wendell Nascimento Borges with a view to moving in the future, while they are also monitoring AS Roma left-back Emerson Palmieri.

Conte could make yet another move for Sandro during the upcoming January transfer window, but the Chelsea boss will not have it all his way with Manchester United also said to be interested in signing the Brazil international, who has impressed since joining Juventus in 2015 from Porto. Juventus are likely to put up a fight and will demand close to £80m they demanded in the summer as he is contracted to the Italian outfit until the summer of 2020.

Jose Mourinho is also on the lookout for a left-back as he is still not convinced about Luke Shaw despite the midfielder returning to full fitness at the start of the season. The Portuguese coach has used a number of players in the left-back position including winger Ashley Young and right-back Matteo Darmian but is now keen on signing a specialist left-sided defender.

According to the Mirror, Tottenham Hotspur's Danny Rose remains Mourinho's primary target, but Sandro remains an option if the Premier League outfit refuses to sell to a direct rival. The report also claims that Chelsea are monitoring a cheaper option in Porto's Alex Telles, but the Juventus full back remains the Italian coach's primary target.