Onana can help Chelsea win silverware in the upcoming season

Chelsea’s struggles at the keeper position are worrisome, acquiring Andre Onana from Ajax would help relieve that stress and win the Blues trophies.

There seems to be a consensus building around Chelsea’s keeper situation. The solution to this dilemma is for Chelsea to go out and seal a transfer for a new keeper. The subject of that transfer search should be Andre Onana of Ajax for a whole host of reasons.

Onana is just a better keeper than current incumbent keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga—it’s as simple as that. The sentiment for a change was reinforced by the recent inability of Chelsea’s keeper to save a volley by Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha in the ‘too close for comfort’ win at Selhurst Park.

It was a rocket uncorked from long-range by a top talent, but the problem is that’s exactly the type of save that is necessary on occasion for a club that needs a top four finish this season desperately. Chelsea will be looking for much, much more next season and it’s doubtful Arriabalaga can deliver. His tenure at Chelsea has been underwhelming and it is no revelation to anyone paying attention. The 25-year-old’s play has been far from the expected in light of his monster transfer from Bilbao for the most money for a keeper ever. Those were difficult expectations to live up to and he hasn’t particularly come close.

The current situation is neither beneficial to Kepa nor to Chelsea. The club’s first dilemma is whether to admit the error after two mediocre seasons or continue to hope for the best while being delivered pretty much the worst. It’s not an easy choice for any club’s decision-maker, but the conclusion to cut your losses on the pitch if not in the bank and move on is the right one. It has to be made.

Andre Onana is a young keeper—24 years old—and a great fit for Chelsea on any number of levels. He has many terrific traits of a world-class keeper. First, he has terrific reflexes and makes great saves with his feet. He can get to low shots that other keepers may have difficulty with. He also has excellent extension on high shots, like Zaha’s. He can get to shots at the top of the goal that others may not. While he’s not the tallest keeper, he’s not shorter either. He lists at six-foot-three inches tall. While a taller keeper with great reflexes is optimum, think Petr Cech, Onana’s height is not detrimental to his performance.

Onana’s aggressive approach is an asset to his game. He has good speed and will rush off the line to snuff out a scoring chance before it materializes or to start a counter-attack. He is also aggressive attacking the ball, not always sitting back and waiting for the game to come to him. That’s a positive trait.

Onana has a strong leg. It may not be in the class of an Ederson from Manchester City, but he can send the ball downfield at a solid distance. In addition, his passing is accurate from the goal or outside it. He can find his team’s players with long passes to kickstart a counter-attack. Onana also has big-game experience. He’s won league titles in the Eredivisie and has taken his team to the Champions League semifinals. In short, there’s a whole lot to like about Andre Onana.

Now, it’s up to Chelsea to go out and get this exciting young keeper and bring him to the Bridge. It is doable. There has been a lot of smoke around Onana being ready to move on to his next challenge and he has been linked to Chelsea. One solid asset is his evidently great relationship with Hakim Ziyech, Chelsea’s earlier signing. The team also seems to have a very good relationship with Ajax, so it makes sense to go back to this club for another answer to a clear and present need in the team. Ziyech can act as a magnet, as Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner have in trying to bring Kai Havertz to the squad.

The last point is that Onana will likely have a price tag that Chelsea can afford for a top keeper. The number of £30-35 million has been thrown around. The need to sell Arrizabalaga is real. Chelsea will not receive anywhere near the huge price they paid for him; yet, if the Blues can recover £25-35 million or so to help pay for Onana, I’d say that’s a good recovery from a regrettable decision.

No matter, it’s time to move on and cut the team’s losses. Hopefully, Chelsea will make the move for Onana shortly and not wait for another team to swoop in and sign him. Onana is the level of keeper that can help Chelsea to realize its highest ambitions. Without a world-class keeper, the Blues cannot and will not be a world-class team. It’s time to move on and shore up this position for 2020/21 and beyond. If they can bring in Havertz, Onana and a couple of top defenders, take out the trophy polish, the silverware is on the way.