Chelsea Transfer News: £61m target emerges – he can finally replace Sanchez

Chelsea have been named in the race for a top-level goalkeeper who could finally end Robert Sanchez’s miserable time as the Blues’ No 1.

Liam Rosenior’s new side are yet to make a major move in the transfer market since his January arrival, but the rumour machine is still in full flow as we head towards the final week of the window.

The likes of Fermin Lopez and Franco Mastantuono have been linked in recent weeks, suggesting that attacking reinforcements are on Rosenior’s mind this winter.

But with several potential problem areas in the Chelsea squad, it would be no surprise if a new goalkeeper was on the agenda before too long.

Robert Sanchez has had plenty of mixed fortunes since assuming the No 1 slot between the sticks for Chelsea, with the Spaniard prone to errors, unreliable with the ball at his feet and no stranger to a card or two.

Despite this, he has so far held off the challenges of Djordje Petrovic and Filip Jorgensen during his time in west London, pointing to the lack of quality in the goalkeeping department at Chelsea.

Therefore, you could argue that an upgrade is well overdue. And according to reports in Italy, one of Serie A’s top shot-stoppers could be the subject of a transfer tussle in the near future.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Chelsea, Spurs, Bournemouth and Bayern Munich are all interested in bringing Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar.

While Roma appear keen to hold onto the Serbian’s services, the report suggests that a ‘huge fee’ could get transfer negotiations in motion, with a long-standing valuation of €70m (£61m) also mentioned.

Given the Giallorossi’s reluctance to sell, you sense £61m could end up being a minimum fee for any willing suitors.

Unfortunately for Chelsea, they won’t be the only ones keen on Svilar. Like Sanchez, Spurs ‘keeper Guglielmo Vicario has had his fair share of detractors, while Manuel Neuer is approaching the end of his career at the Allianz Arena.

As for Svilar’s qualities, it is easy to see why he may have been targeted by the Blues hierarchy.

At the time of writing, only two goalkeepers have more clean sheets in Serie A this season, while Roma’s defence has been the tightest in the Italian top flight, with just 12 goals conceded prior to their weekend clash against rivals Milan.

This season has been no flash in the pan, either, with only Napoli’s Alex Meret recording more shutouts last term, while he has taken the No 1 role at the Stadio Olimpico from Rui Patricio in his stride, as last season’s clean sheet tally more than tripled his total from 2023/24.

None of this would ensure Svilar’s success at Chelsea, but it could be argued that Robert Sanchez had not wowed in the same way Svilar currently is, and even for a near-world-record price for a goalkeeper, he would feel like much less of a risk.

Graduated in Sport Journalism (BA) with first-class honours from the University of Brighton and has since had bylines in The Times, sports business publication SportsPro, Football FanCast and The Gooner fanzine.

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