Chelsea have entered the race with Manchester United to sign Moises Caicedo. Last month, reports claimed that United had begun talks to sign the 19-year-old midfielder, with his club Independiente del Valle demanding an initial £5.5 million fee plus add-ons.

But Independiente del Valle’s general manager, Santiago Morales, has denied that United have made an approach, although he admits that Caicedo is likely to leave in the January window. ‘There is interest from various teams for Moises Caicedo and we believe that we will not have him this year,’ Morales told Radio La Red this week.

‘There is much speculation with Moises Caicedo, but we haven’t had any communication with Manchester United. ‘We are surprised that they even talk about values, but we haven’t spoken with Manchester United, although we have spoken with other great teams in the world.’

Chelsea are also interested in signing Caicedo and have made an initial approach for the Ecuador international. The report also claims that Ajax have made a similar move for Caicedo. ‘There is another club interested in England and also a team of the five top leagues in Europe,’ Morales said in a separate interview with Machdeportes. ‘We have two strong teams from Europe interested in him, without reaching any agreement yet, but we hope their negotiations will be quick.’