---
title: "Chelsea battle Manchester United for Thiago Maia"
canonical: "https://readchelsea.com/2016/11/21/chelsea-battle-manchester-united-thiago-maia/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Michael Oliver"
section: "Chelsea News"
published: "2016-11-21T14:41:20Z"
modified: "2016-11-21T14:41:20Z"
---

# Chelsea battle Manchester United for Thiago Maia

Chelsea and Manchester United are going head-to-head for highly-rated Santos midfielder Thiago Maia, according to [Calciomercato](https://www.calciomercato.com/search?q=chelsea).

The 19-year-old defensive midfielder is one of the brightest young players in Brazilian football right now and was a key part of their side which won the gold medal at this past Olympics.

Both Premier League clubs are eager to sign the teenager but face competition from PSG for the £17m-rated midfielder. Juventus are also keen but are unwilling to get into a bidding war.

![Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images Sport](https://cdn.readeverything.co/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/490289360.jpg)

It’s understood that while Maia would jump at the chance to join United or Chelsea, his preference today remains a move to Ligue 1 with PSG.

The French champions have a number of Brazilians on their books currently, including Thiago Silva, Maxwell, Lucas Moura and Marquinhos which will help Maia settle in at the club.

However, Chelsea do also have a strong Brazilian contingent with David Luiz, Willian and Oscar.

Should Maia join Chelsea, expect talk of potential departures for Nemanja Matic and John Obi Mikel to heat up again.