Bengaluru, October 12: Premier League giants Chelsea could get one over their arch rivals Manchester United by making a swoop for AC Milan defender Alessio Romagnoli.

The centre-back, 23, is one of the first names on the Rossoneri team sheet with Genaro Gattuso choosing to rotate Mateo Musacchio and Cristian Zapata alongside the Italian.

The young defender has even been given the captain's armband by Gattuso which speaks volumes about his potential and leadership ability. Romagnoli missed Milan's 3-1 win over Chievo last weekend with an injury, while the club currently are on a nine-game unbeaten run.

The former Roma and Sampdoria youth product is in his fourth season at the San Siro, but a lack of Champions League football and turmoil in the boardroom could persuade him to move to England and Chelsea are looking to pounce on the situation.

Chelsea are not in the Champions League this season, but Maurizio Sarri reportedly knows he will lose Gary Cahill either in January or at the end of the season and he is keen on replacing him with his young compatriot.

Young Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen has also revealed he is ready to quit Stamford Bridge after being left on the bench on a regular basis, while he was a regular starter under Antonio Conte last season.

Sarri is notorious for sticking with the same starting line-up game after game for Napoli and signs are he will continue to do similar with Chelsea which is not a good news for the Danish defender.

The Dane, 22, said: "It has been a difficult start to the season. I can't stand having to have so much patience again. I'm 22 years old now and I really want to play.

"In the last three seasons I've played regularly for the teams I've been at, so of course I don't see myself staying if my current situation remains the same in the future.

"It's too early to talk about when I'm going to move, or if I'm going to move at all. But it's clearly not a good situation for me."