Chelsea fear they have missed out on Sancho to Manchester United

Chelsea are entertaining the idea of signing former Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho on loan after talks for Jadon Sancho stall, claims ESPN.

Frank Lampard's side earmarked Sancho as a top transfer target this summer but fear they are a long way behind Manchester United in the race for his signature.

The west London outfit are now exploring alternatives and one of those is signing Coutinho from Barcelona on an initial loan deal.

Barcelona are desperate to offload Coutinho on a permanent basis this summer but reluctantly accept a loan may be the best case scenario given the current circumstances.

The Brazilian is currently on a season-long loan deal at Bayern Munich but the Bundesliga outfit are not expected to make his switch permanent.

Chelsea are one of several clubs Coutinho has been offered to this summer and now Lampard's side are seriously considering a move for the 27-year-old.

Coutinho spent almost five years at Liverpool before securing a dream move to Barcelona at the start of January 2018 and was considered one of the best players in the Premier League at that time.

In fact, against only Tottenham (15) has Coutinho played against more than Chelsea (13) in his career and both of his goals against the Blues were taken at Stamford Bridge.

Coutinho finished his time at Liverpool with 68 goals and assists in 139 league appearances and in that time he scored more goals from outside the box (18) than any other player in the division.