Chelsea has little expectation that Thibaut Courtois will stay. With their top target off the table, the search has quickly entered full blown panic.
When it became clear that Thibaut Courtois would not extend his contract, Chelsea began to prepare for his sale. To do so, they Blues targeted Alisson from Roma. But Liverpool entered the hunt and swiped the Brazilian away.
With the top target gone, Chelsea could have looked at the short list they had prepared and simply gone to the next name. But given the targets now, it is simple to say that Alisson was the only name on the list. Some of the targets now range from strange to unsavory, indicating that Chelsea has entered panic mode in their attempt to replace Courtois this window.
Top of the list is Gianluigi Donnarumma. On paper, he is the clear choice. Maurizio Sarri would know his body of work from Serie A, he is only 19, and he has shown tons of promise. The right manager could not only turn him into a world beater, but into a decade (or decades) long starter.
But that illusion quickly falls apart. Donnarumma brings drama. The reason AC Milan would be interested in selling (beyond their debts) is because the fans turned on the keeper last year over drawn out contract talks. His form also took a massive dip last season. Furthermore, his agent is a massive issue.
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Mino Raiola is a super agent in world football. He has some of the biggest players in his portfolio. He loves to move those players around for massive money deals. Not only that, but once a club has one Raiola player, they find themselves having multiple because of the threats he puts in place. Play Raiola’s game, get a great player for a high cost. Opt out, and he will simply take that player to the next highest bidder. It would be a massive hassle to have a Raiola player on the roster.
After Donnarumma, the targets are more acceptable but become quite strange. The next player on the list to target is likely Kasper Schmeichel fresh off impressive performances at the World Cup. Schmeichel is a fantastic keeper who would count as home grown and add leadership to the club. But at 31, it is hard to see him being the man between the sticks for long.
The more sentimental option banded about is Petr Cech. Cech would absolutely add leadership to the dressing room, but his best days are behind him. Arsenal went out a replaced him for a reason; he is simply not what he used to be. Chelsea cannot afford to have Cech between the sticks any more.
The final, last ditch effort seems to be aimed at Jordan Pickford. Pickford would be the ideal choice of the four, but would cost an arm and a leg after the World Cup. Also, Everton only bought him a year ago, so it would be difficult to pry him away.
The Schmeichel and Cech links do at least hint at Chelsea trusting in someone they already have in house. Chelsea has plenty of talented youth keepers who are not quite ready yet, but having Schmeichel or Cech as buffers could give them room to grow.
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Chelsea will need to quickly solve this keeper situation. Courtois simply cannot be allowed to stay without a new contract signed. Chelsea must move quickly and smartly to insure success next season. So far, the new targets give little hope compared to what Alisson offered.