Chelsea are aiming to secure two transfers ahead of the Club World Cup, including a new goalkeeper, Mike Maignan, with negotiations continuing with AC Milan. Like many clubs participating in FIFA’s new tournament, Chelsea are keen to finalise their business early.
Head coach Enzo Maresca is eager to recruit a new first-choice keeper and has set his sights on the Frenchman, although their current offer falls short of Milan’s asking price. They have submitted a revised bid of £15million for Maignan, who is entering the last year of his contract at San Siro.
However, this is still significantly lower than Milan’s preferred price of £25million. If an agreement can be reached, Maignan will become Chelsea’s primary goalkeeper.
The player himself has expressed a desire to move to Stamford Bridge, where many goalkeepers have struggled to establish themselves. Chelsea are aware that they are likely to lose one of their keepers, with Arsenal nearing a deal to sign Kepa Arrizabalaga for £5million.
The Spanish player, who has had several loan spells away from the club, most recently at Bournemouth, recognises that he has no future at Stamford Bridge and is expected to join Arsenal in a bargain deal due to a release clause in his contract.
The Blues are also showing interest and continue to negotiate with Borussia Dortmund for Jamie Gittens. The England U21 international might be on the move, but the Premier League team recognises they need to up their game to entice the German club after their initial £29.5m bid was turned down.
Gittens, who previously trained with Chelsea as a youth before leaving to seek first-team opportunities, could command a price tag of up to £50m from Dortmund.
The 20-year-old winger is the latest English player to shine at the Bundesliga club, following in the footsteps of Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham.
Both Chelsea and Dortmund are participating in the Club World Cup in the United States and have until Tuesday night’s transfer deadline to finalise a deal if Gittens is to swap his yellow jersey for blue in time for the tournament.
If deals cannot be reached in the next few hours, they could fall apart completely. It remains to be seen how the Blues, or Dortmund and Milan, view their respective moves once the window has passed.
On Monday, the west London club announced the signing of young defender Mamadou Sarr, who joins from sister club Strasbourg for a fee of £12m. Maresca’s most significant summer acquisition so far is Liam Delap, who arrived from Ipswich for £30m.