Chelsea prioritise summer move for 25-year-old French star to solve key problem

Chelsea intent on securing Mike Maignan transfer

According to a report from Le10Sport (h/t Mirror), Chelsea are prioritising a summer move for Lille goalkeeper Mike Maignan as Frank Lampard eyes reinforcements at the back.

The 25-year-old Maignan came through the youth ranks at PSG before making the switch to Lille in 2015 in search of regular game time. Over the past couple of years, he has developed into one of the best goalkeepers in France, becoming a key player for Lille.

Till date, he has featured 132 times for the French club, keeping 42 clean sheets, 13 of which came in the 2019/20 campaign.

Maignan still has two years left on his current contract with Lille. However, the 25-year-old could be on his way out of France in the summer, amid interest from Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. (h/t Mirror)

Chelsea’s goalkeeping situation is quite a problematic one right now. The club invested heavily in Kepa Arrizabalaga only a couple of years ago. However, the Spanish international has struggled to live up to the expectations during his time at Stamford Bridge.

Willy Caballero, at 38 years old, cannot be the first-choice goalkeeper at a team which is eyeing to challenge for trophies. So bringing in a new custodian needs to be at the top of the manager’s to-do list.

Maignan, to that end, has emerged as a priority target for Frank Lampard & co. However, any move for the Frenchman would hinge on us being able to offload Kepa in the current transfer window.

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Apart from Maignan, Chelsea are also looking at Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak and Manchester United’s Dean Henderson.

While Oblak will not come cheap, Henderson is unlikely to be sold by the Red Devils to a direct rival. This makes Maignan a much more realistic target. It, however, remains to be seen if the club does act on the interest in the 25-year-old.