Chelsea are considering a move to sign bring AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan to the Premier League, according to reports.
Who is Mike Maignan?
Maignan is a goalkeeper who currently plays his football at the San Siro Stadium having moved there from Lille back in 2021, and despite not being Stefano Pioli’s official number one, he’s the manager’s current first-choice having made 22 Serie A starts last season when he wasn’t on the sidelines with his calf injury.
Earlier this month, 90min reported that the Blues hold an interest in the 27-year-old and had enquired about his availability during negotiations for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but despite this quickly being shut down, Mauricio Pochettino has since been handed a huge boost.
The France international still has another three years to run on his contract in Italy, though it’s been claimed that he’s refused to discuss an improved deal which has prompted the belief that he could want to leave this window, with his decision having once again alerted chiefs at Stamford Bridge.
Are Chelsea signing Maignan?
According to The Telegraph (via CaughtOffside), Chelsea are "considering" a swoop for Maignan ahead of the 2023/24 campaign. Pochettino was reportedly "content" to head into the new term with Kepa Arrizabalaga as his number one, but having "impressed" during his time at AC Milan, the shot-stopper appears to be a target who the boss believes can strengthen his options in the net.
With Edouard Mendy closing in on a move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli, Chelsea will know that they need to enter the market to find a suitable replacement and Maignan, who appears to be at the top of his game with a career-high €45m Transfermarkt bvalution, could be a replacement for the Senegalese and also a serious challenger for Kepa.
The 6 foot 3 “giant”, as described by talent scout Jacek Kulig, kept eight clean sheets from 22 Serie A outings last season and made 40 saves from 62 shots on target giving him a save percentage of 69.4%, higher than the 64.1% that was recorded by Mendy.
The 2022/23 Champions League participant, who pockets £59k-per-week, also has an extremely strong range of passing having completed 133 of 134 short passes and 354 of 360 medium, via FBRef, so he has an eye for dispatching balls to his outfield players, and by the looks of things, Todd Boehly may look to capitalise on this to bring him to SW6 over the coming months.
