AC Milan have rejected Chelsea’s opening offer of less than €20m for goalkeeper Mike Maignan with a final bid expected on Monday or Tuesday according to reports.
The Blues are once again expected to be busy this summer and have already completed the signing of Liam Delap from Ipswich.
Chelsea face a critical window and could look to add another striker but are also looking for a centre back and right back.
Supporters would love to see a new goalkeeper signed given the uncertainty the Blues had between the sticks last season.
No keeper made more mistakes leading to goals in the league last season than Robert Sanchez, whilst it’s still unclear how good Filip Jorgensen is.
Djordje Petrovic excelled on loan at Strasbourg, but there’s a chance Chelsea could cash in on the Serb, and earlier this week they made an approach to AC Milan for Maignan.
Milan value the 29-year-old between £20-£25m, but Chelsea feel Maignan is only worth £8.5m given he’s got a year left on his contract.
The Blues would ideally like to conclude a deal before June 10th so Maignan can feature in the whole Club World Cup campaign, and he’s believed to have told Milan he wants to join Chelsea.
Whether an agreement is close remains to be seen but Italian journalist Daniele Longo has reported Chelsea’s opening offer for the France international has been rejected.
He took to X.com and said:
“Milan rejected Chelsea’s first offer for Maignan because it was considered too low (less than 20 million euros).
“Mike is tempted by the Blues, he is open to the transfer. The second offer is expected between Monday and Tuesday, from a make or break.”
If the Blues complete a deal for Maignan it would likely be the end for Petrovic at Stamford Bridge, and the 25-year-old isn’t short of suitors.
Petrovic is believed to be open to a move to Monaco, whilst he’s also said to be on Milan’s list of targets to replace Maignan if he departs.
Chelsea are in line to make a significant profit on the £14m they paid in 2023 and it will be interesting to see what decision they end up making with their goalkeepers.
