Manchester United and Manchester City set to battle it out for Chelsea youngster Charly Musonda

Manchester United and Manchester City are set to make a push for Chelsea starlet Charly Musonda, who has been tipped to follow in the footsteps of his Belgian compatriots Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne. The 19-year-old is yet to make his first team appearance with the Blues despite having been given assurances when he signed a four-year contract last March.

The Mirror reports that Chelsea are open to allowing the player to go on loan but are loathe to let him leave without realising his potential with the Blues. Both Manchester clubs are willing to match Chelsea's £10m ($15m) fee but the Blues are unwilling to let this be a repeat of the De Bruyne incident, where he excelled at Wolfsburg after being let go by Chelsea in 2013.

United are desperate to get him on board, with Van Gaal insinuating that his team will be active in the market in January in a bid to restructure their title challenge. City, on the other hand, are hoping that the Belgian contingent of Vincent Kompany and De Bruyne at the Etihad will tilt the tide in their favour to sign the midfielder.

Time is running out for the youngster, who has not trained with the Chelsea first team as yet and is therefore looking at opportunities to prove himself in a competitive arena. However, the Manchester clubs' chances of signing the player will depend on Chelsea's ability to pacify him and sell him a long-term vision that would be beneficial for his future.

The Blues are currently struggling in the league and are likely to spend heavily in the market in January to get their season back on track. Mourinho's men are currently 14th in the league following yet another loss against a bottom side, taking their points tally to only 15 for the season, 17 points behind league leaders Leicester City.