If Chelsea secure the bargain signing of an AC Milan star, it could reportedly ‘spell doom’ for two of their players, with an ‘immediate exit’ suggested.
Chelsea always have a very large pool of players. They almost always have a lot of players out on loan, so that they can allow those who won’t immediately get in the side to develop.
In the first-team squad, they currently have five goalkeepers. Usual starters Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen are joined by Mike Penders, Lucas Bergstom and Marcus Bettinelli. There is also Djordje Petrovic, who had a fantastic loan spell with Strasbourg.
But Chelsea are looking into the signing of a new goalkeeper. Interest in Mike Maignan has been confirmed by Sky Sports, and they state that while Milan want £25million, the Blues won’t pay that. Elsewhere, it’s been suggested they have bid just £10million.
Football Insider reports that if Chelsea can secure their cut-priced deal for Maignan, both Sanchez and Petrovic ‘could be pushed out’.
It’s stated the signing could ‘spell doom’ for the prospects of both at Stamford Bridge, as Petrovic, in particular, could be in line for an ‘immediate exit’.
Having kept 10 clean sheets for Strasbourg last term, and finishing with the second-best save percentage in Ligue 1, Petrovic will almost certainly want to be a starter for whichever club he plays for next season.
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Sky Sports’ Kaveh Solhekol has suggested a goalkeeper exodus could indeed be coming if Maignan signs.
“Chelsea are making a big push to sign Maignan. It looks like the player is up for the challenge of moving to the Premier League, and he’s only got a year left on his contract at AC Milan,” he said.
“I know a lot of Chelsea supporters have been demanding the club sign a new goalkeeper, because they’re not totally convinced by Robert Sanchez or Filip Jorgensen.
“But they do have a lot of goalkeepers on their books – they’ve got Djordje Petrovic, who’s been on loan at Strasbourg, and Mike Penders from Genk who stayed there on loan too.
“He’s been described as the new Thibaut Courtois, and they’ve still got Kepa [Arrizablaga] who’s been on loan at Bournemouth.
“That would be six goalkeepers – there’s no chance Chelsea go into next season with six goalkeepers of that calibre on their books. If and when Maignan comes in, you’d think there would be scope for at least one of those to leave.
“But it would be a really good signing for Chelsea, a lot of fans aren’t happy with the No 1 situation and they are used to having world-class goalkeepers like Petr Cech and Courtois.
“This would be a statement signing, and what would really please Chelsea supporters is that he’s not young, he’s not developing, he’s not someone who’s spent time at the Manchester City academy. He’s someone who has proved himself at Lille, won the title at AC Milan and is the France No 1.”
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