Chelsea are now leading the chase for Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder after it was suggested that Manchester United were not prepared to pay the £31m the Serie A club are looking for.
Hiddink, who is set to join Chelsea within the fortnight has informed the board that Sneijder should be brought in and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will be quite happy to provide the wanted fee in return for an international star.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were initially prepared to offer £23m but was thought to be too low by the Inter Milan hierarchy for a player who has only recently signed a long contract extension.
With Inter Milan looking at £31m it could be assumed that United may use a player as a bargaining chip but there have been no reports on a possible swap, although the obvious choice would probably be Dimitar Berbatov.
Beating Manchester United to the Holland international would be seen as a psychological edge for Chelsea and United fans will certainly not be too pleased with the Glazer family should money seem an issue in purchasing one of the world’s best midfielders.