From Italy: Chelsea face competition to sign world class free agent

Chelsea could reportedly be up against Juventus in the race to snap up AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan on a free transfer next summer.

The France international is one of the top goalkeepers in world football right now, and is looking poised to become one of the most tempting free agents on the market.

Maignan is close to the end of his contract with Milan and Chelsea remain interested after trying to sign him in the summer, though Juventus are now also expected to be in the race, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

Chelsea will no doubt hope they can remain strong contenders for Maignan’s signature as he would surely be a significant upgrade on the unconvincing Robert Sanchez.

Chelsea must have some regrets that they didn’t get a deal done for Maignan over the summer, though AS Roma Live recently reported that the Blues were still confident of winning the race for his signature.

At the time, Alfredo Pedulla reported for Football Italia that Chelsea were not keen to pay more than €15m for Maignan.

With hindsight, this looks like a mistake, especially considering quite how much the west London giants splashed the cash on signings for other areas of their squad.