Arsenal and Chelsea favourites in race for Manchester United target Andrea Belotti

Arsenal and Chelsea have entered the race to sign Torino striker Andrea Belotti, with both the London clubs looking to invest heavily in the summer to increase their potency up front. Manchester United are also interested in signing the forward, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic's contract with the Red Devils yet to be renewed as he will miss the beginning of next season with a knee injury.

The Sun reports that Arsenal and Chelsea are front-runners for Belotti's signature with the Gunners having already had a £56m ($72m) bid rejected for the striker in January, as confirmed by Torino sporting director Gianluca Petrachi. The striker has scored 26 goals and assisted seven in the recently concluded season and is being valued at a fee in the range of £85m ($109m).

The Gunners are still waiting on the future of Alexis Sanchez, who enters his last year in contract with the north London club, alongside Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mesut Ozil. Should the Chilean decide to leave, having already been linked with a transfer to Bayern Munich, Arsenal will have to splash the cash on Belotti to alleviate the impact from the departure of their prime goalscorer.

The Blues have to take a decision on the future of Diego Costa. The Brazil-born Spain international has expressed a desire to rejoin Atletico Madrid, quashing rumours of a move to the Chinese Super League. Should he leave, manager Antonio Conte has earmarked Belotti and Everton striker Romelu Lukaku as possible replacements, with the Belgian scoring 25 goals and assisting six in the league this season.

Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger is likely to have his future decided by the end of this week when the top brass at Arsenal convene in a board meeting. The Frenchman's contract with the north London club expires this summer but there is talk of a new two year contract following his third FA Cup win in the last four years.