Chelsea ended their campaign on a high after securing Champions League qualification for next season, while also winning this year’s Europa Conference League.
But determined to close the gap on their Premier League rivals, the Blues have quickly turned their attentions to the transfer market in what is set to be another busy summer of comings and goings in west London
Chelsea kicked off their recruitment drive by completing a deal for Sporting midfielder Dario Essugo and Liam Delap is expected to follow the youngster through the doors at Stamford Bridge over the coming days
Next on Chelsea’s list of priorities is finding an upgrade on Robert Sanchez after dismal few months for the error-prone Spaniard, who now faces an uncertain future in the capital
Maresca put his faith in Sanchez as Chelsea’s number one at the start of last season, with Djordje Petrovic and Kepa Arrizabalaga sent out on loan to Strasbourg and Bournemouth respectively.
But a string of costly blunders prompted Maresca to drop Sanchez in favour of Filip Jorgensen in mid-February, only for the latter to relinquish the gloves with some less-than-convincing performances of his own.
Several big-name goalkeepers have been linked with Chelsea in recent weeks, including Burnley’s James Trafford, Southampton’s Aaron Ramsdale, Roma’s Mile Svilar and AC Milan’s Maignan.
According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Milan have come back with a proposal after Chelsea made contact with the Serie A giants to discuss a move for Maignan.
The report claims Milan would be prepared to let their number one leave for a fee of €30million (£25m) this summer. It remains to be seen if Chelsea will return with an opening bid for the France international.
Maresca would ideally like to have Maignan at his disposal for the upcoming Club World Cup, which gets underway later this month.
Maignan has made 163 appearances in all competitions for Milan since joining the club from Ligue outfit Lille back in 2021.
In his debut season in Italian football, Maignan played a key role as Milan held off bitter rivals Inter to win the Serie A title.
Maignan picked up his second trophy with Milan in January as the Rossoneri came out on top in the Italian Super Cup final.
The shot-stopper has just one year remaining on his current contract at the San Siro
