Ricky van Wolfswinkel watched by Chelsea as well as Manchester United

Chelsea are set to rival Manchester United for the signature of Sporting Lisbon’s Ricky van Wolfswinkel, after sending scouts to watch the striker in action.

Lone wolf: Sporting striker is gaining a big reputation

The £11million-rated Dutch ace has hit nine goals in 13 appearances since joining the Portuguese giants from Utrecht in the summer, and his red-hot form has alerted a host of European giants.

But it’s the Blues and United who have shown the biggest interest in the 22-year-old forward, and Andre Villas-Boas’ spies have reportedly been dispatched to watch Van Wolfswinkel in Sporting’s next match against Benfica on Saturday.

However, the hot-shot has previously stated his desire to remain in Portugal until at least the end of the season, and although his agent confirmed that there's interest from the Premier League duo, he quickly moved to distance his client from rumours of a potential January switch.

'I know they (Manchester United and Chelsea) are watching him but that is not unusual because they are watching all the best young players in Europe,' Louis Laros told the International Business Times.  

'I have not spoken to anyone about his future. At the moment any interest is only rumours and nothing more.'