Every single day Chelsea are linked with signing a new goalkeeper but who should they sign to be their new number one?
Frank Lampard benched Kepa Arrizabalaga on the final day of the season to all but end his Chelsea career as it is clear the Spanish goalkepeer, the most expensive goalkeeper in history, is not wanted by the Blues.
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With Kepa on his way out this summer after a string of mistakes throughout his two seasons at Chelsea, who should Lampard go for to replace him?
Reports have so far linked Chelsea with Nick Pope, Dean Henderson, Jan Oblak, Marc-andre Ter Stegen, Andre Onana and many others, as the west London club have to upgrade their defensive unit if they’re going to turn into serious title contenders over the next few seasons.
Going forward Chelsea are great but they need a new center back, left back and goalkeeper to be taken seriously next season.
Here’s a look at which goalkeepers are in the running to become Chelsea’s new main man between the sticks.
Nick Pope
A sensible buy and although he’d be expensive, probably the best fit. Not the sexiest choice but the correct one. Pope, 28, has shone at Burnley and has just about everything needed in the Premier League. He is a good shot-stopper, something Kepa isn’t, and is decent enough with the ball at his feet. Pope commands his area and is about to become England’s number one goalkeeper. The Burnley star was sensational this season and if Chelsea come in with a bid of over $50 million, that should do it.
Andre Onana
A long-term target of both Chelsea, PSG and Barcelona, it is believed that Ajax will let Onana leave this summer for a fee of $35 million. Onana, 24, has been brilliant for Ajax in recent seasons and is still pretty young for a goalkeeper. Like Pope he commands his area well and is probably better with his feet than Pope. Slightly cheaper than Pope and Onana has Champions League experience and came through Barcelona’s academy before heading to Ajax to start his senior career. A solid choice and an upgrade on Kepa.
Dean Henderson
A long-shot but worth trying for, which apparently Chelsea have already tried to. Henderson, 23, has been superb on loan at Sheffield United over the past two seasons and it doesn’t seem like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants him back at Manchester United with David de Gea his undisputed number one. That said, with DDG making some big errors this season, maybe Henderson will hang around at Man United in 2020-21 and wait for De Gea to be dropped? Reports suggest that Henderson wants to move on permanently if he isn’t guaranteed playing time at Man United but would the Red Devils really sell or loan a top young goalkeeper to a direct Premier League top four rival? I don’t think so.
Jan Oblak
Atletico Madrid don’t want to sell him and rightly so, but Oblak does have a $140 million release clause in his contract. The Slovenian goalkeeper is arguably the best on the planet and if Chelsea really want to make a statement, they should sign him. Oblak, 27, could be the best goalkeeper in the world for the next 10 years and he would replicate Petr Cech’s dominance. Imagine what Oblak’s presence would do to inspire the entire Chelsea team, let alone the defense?
