Chelsea’s talented teen Gabriel Slonina: Who the hell are you? (Vol. 23)
Chelsea has had some swings and misses over the last few years in the transfer market. This is especially true when discussing the position between the sticks for the Blues following the departure of long-time goalkeeper Petr Cech in the mid-2010s. Thibaut Courtois was named the heir apparent to the club legend, and the Belgian was supposed to solidify the keeper position for the next decade-plus at Stamford Bridge. However, Real Madrid came calling and the offer was too good for Courtois to refuse. This is when Chelsea’s world came crashing down and the mad dash for a new starting goalkeeper commenced.
Kepa Arrizabalaga was signed for a world record fee from Athletic Bilbao and all seemed right in the world again. The Blues had a great young keeper who they locked up for years to come. He excelled under Maurizio Sarri’s guidance, winning the UEFA Europa League during his debut campaign. However, once Frank Lampard took over, Arrizabalaga’s performances declined. Chelsea turned to Willy Caballero during some of the biggest matches of the season and the club found itself back at square one when it came to finding a suitable No. 1 goalkeeper.
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The Blues soon replaced Arrizabalaga with a relatively unknown Senegalese international named Edouard Mendy. Suffice it to say, the former Rennes star has been a huge success around SW6 since his arrival a few seasons ago. Mendy has locked up a starting spot for the foreseeable future after winning a handful of continental trophies, but that doesn’t mean Chelsea can’t start searching for his eventual replacement as he recently turned 30. That’s exactly what it has done with its third signing of the summer, Chicago Fire goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina.
It’s time to take a deep dive into the young career of the Blues’ latest talented teenager:
1. History
As alluded to already, there really isn’t much to talk about in this portion of the piece. Slonina just turned 18 years old in May. This means he’s not got the lengthy track record of Chelsea’s other two signings, Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly. The Addison, Illinois native didn’t burst onto the scene until the age of 12 when he signed for his local MLS club. Slonina quickly made an impression on the Chicago Fire though, who signed him to a professional contract less than three years later. The goalkeeper became the youngest addition to the Illinois-based club and the second-youngest signing in the history of the American top division.
Slonina continued to break records when he made his debut in 2021 against the soon-to-be MLS champion, New York City FC. At 17 years and 81 days old, the American became the youngest starting goalkeeper in the league’s 26-year history. Slonina’s four saves helped the Fire earn a result, a 0-0 draw with NYCFC, as he became—you guessed it—the youngest keeper to record a clean sheet in MLS history. He spent the next seven matches on the bench before taking over as the team’s No. 1 shot stopper for the remainder of the season (10 games). The teenager’s debut campaign concluded with him tallying 11 matches in total, where he kept four clean sheets.
Chicago put its trust in its youngster ahead of the 2021/22 season, naming him the team’s starting goalkeeper going forward. Although he has now officially completed his move to Chelsea, he will remain with his boyhood club until the MLS season concludes in January. There may not be much history on the young shot-stopper, but he’s shown flashes of being an exceptional talent during the last few years. It’s now time to take a look at whether or not he’s any good.
Spoiler alert: he is very good.