Chelsea Transfer News: Nicolas Otamendi Contacted Amid Manchester United Rumours

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is "working on" yanking the transfer of Valencia centre-back Nicolas Otamendi from the clutches of Manchester United.

According to Spanish newspaper Super Deporte (h/t Will Giles of Metro), Mourinho has instructed his agent Jorge Mendes to finalise a deal. Mendes previously brought Diego Costa and Radamel Falcao to Stamford Bridge.

However, Spanish journalist Roberto Bonafont (h/t George Bellshaw of Metro) believes United are on the cusp of confirming Otamendi's arrival. The Red Devils have "everything in place" to go ahead with the transfer, according to Bellshaw's article.

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Although Real Madrid were linked with a move for Otamendi, Spanish paper AS (h/t James Robson of the Manchester Evening News) suggests Los Blancos have pulled out of the race because they believe he has agreed a move to Old Trafford.

They will focus on acquiring Ezequiel Garay—Otamendi's international team-mate with Argentina—from Zenit Saint Petersburg instead.

It must be said, United have a much greater need for Otamendi than Chelsea. Louis van Gaal's current centre-back options include Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Marcos Rojo, four names who don't particularly fill opposing strikers with fear.

Chelsea's recent title-winning season was built on a formidable defence. Mourinho's return has reignited John Terry's career, a player who remains an ever-present in the west London side.

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Gary Cahill suffered a handful of difficult moments during 2014-15—usually down to his lack of pace—resulting in Mourinho providing talented youngster Kurt Zouma with ample playing time. Adding Otamendi will upset this dynamic.

The Blues have also worked to a one-in, one-out policy in recent times. Stars such as Juan Mata, Kevin De Bruyne and David Luiz have been sacrificed to ensure the club doesn't breach UEFA's financial fair play guidelines. Chelsea cannot afford to have a major fine and squad limit imposed when they are battling for silverware across four fronts.

B/R UK's Jonathan Johnson doesn't believe Mourinho needs to risk this by altering too much:

Otamendi is a Mourinho-style player, though, so it's easy to see why his name is being linked. The former Porto man wins the ball with regularity and is someone who throws his body in the way to stop shots with little regard for his body. Like Terry and Cahill, he's also a threat from set pieces, having racked up six goals in La Liga last season.

His £36 million release clause should be considered too costly to Chelsea, who would be adding Otamendi as a luxury signing.

The 27-year-old could become essential under Van Gaal at United, especially considering the manager and club are more inclined to spend heavily in a bid to improve.