Manchester United and Chelsea are exploring a possible swap deal involving Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling, sources told ESPN.

Chelsea have shown an interest in signing Sancho and are keen to part with Sterling after head coach Enzo Maresca informed the 29-year-old last week he is surplus to requirements.

Chelsea want to offload Sterling’s £325,000-a-week ($430,000) salary from their wage bill, and sources told ESPN the winger would prefer a permanent move rather than a loan.

Sources added that he would ideally like to stay in the Premier League, but that has not put off Juventus expressing an interest in Sterling.

Juventus are also monitoring Sancho, but as Chelsea and United began discussing his situation, sources told ESPN that negotiations have developed to examine whether Sterling could form part of a possible deal.

As of Tuesday afternoon, talks were not considered to be at an advanced stage in either Sancho’s proposed move to Chelsea or United’s interest in Sterling, who has three years left on his contract at Stamford Bridge.

Although Sterling spent seven seasons at Manchester City, he admitted in 2019 that “when I was young, I was a massive United fan” and sources told ESPN his focus now is securing regular first-team football and regaining his place in the England squad after missing out on Euro 2024.

United sporting director Dan Ashworth is an admirer of Sterling.

Sterling has been part of a group of Chelsea castaways — more than a dozen players are training away from the first-team group as the club try to trim down their squad before Friday’s transfer deadline.