Very little is predictable in the final weeks of a transfer window, well apart from the fact Chelsea will be busy!
The Blues are currently finalising a deal to sign Xavi Simons, while reports suggest that they’re also in talks with Manchester United to bring Alejandro Garnacho to Stamford Bridge.
This would take the Blues’ summer spend above £300m, but could they leave their most important addition for last?
Chelsea target a transformational signing
Inarguably, the best signing of the Clearlake Capital-era is the £42.5m paid to Manchester City to sign Cole Palmer two summers ago, given that he has become one of the very best players in the Premier League.
Since, the Blues have signed a further 21 players, as the table below outlines.
Omari Kellyman
£19m
Zero
Tosin Adarabioyo
Free
41
Marc Guiu
£5m
16
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
£30m
36
Renato Veiga
£12m
18
Caleb Wiley
£8.5m
Zero
Filip Jörgensen
£21m
24
Aarón Anselmino
£15.6m
1
Pedro Neto
£52m
51
João Félix
£44.5m
20*
Jadon Sancho
£5m penalty fee
41
Mathis Amougou
£12.5m
2
Mike Penders
£17m
Zero
Dário Essugo
£18.5m
3
Liam Delap
£30m
6
Mamadou Sarr
£12.5m
1
Kendry Páez
£17.2m
Zero
João Pedro
£55m
3
Jamie Gittens
£48.5m
Zero
Jorrel Hato
£35.5m
Zero
Estêvão Willian
£29m
Zero
*appearances made during his second spell only
As the table documents, Chelsea have signed 21 senior players since Palmer’s arrival, some of whom have never and will never make a first team appearance for the club, but could that trend be about to change?
Well, according to a report by Julien Laurens of ESPN, Paris Saint-Germain are expecting to receive an offer from Chelsea for goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, with Manchester United and Internazionale Milano also noted as being interested.
Les Rouge-et-Bleu are actively attempting to sell the Italian national team captain, having just signed Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier for £35m, with a report by La Repubblica claiming that Donnarumma is valued at a similar figure.
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So, could there soon be a new number one in West London?
How Gianluigi Donnarumma would transform Chelsea
Despite no longer being wanted in Paris, Donnarumma’s quality should not be questioned.
Walid Acherchour of RMC Sport labels his performances for PSG last season “phenomenal”, while Mark White of Four Four Two believes he is the very best goalkeeper in the world, praising his ‘shot-stopping ability’, asserting that his game has reached a new level in the last 12 months.
Still only 26 years old, Donnarumma is vastly experienced, accumulating 251 appearances for boyhood club AC Milan, debuting for the Rossoneri as a 16-year-old, featuring a further 161 times for PSG since making the move four years ago.
He is also now Italy’s captain, racking up 74 caps at international level, very much on course to break the all-time appearance record of 174, held by his idol and namesake Gianluigi Buffon.
Should he make the move to Chelsea, he would surely be a key figure in West London too.
That’s because, as outlined by Nizaar Kinsella of BBC Sport, many believe the Blues still require a top-class goalkeeper if they’re going to challenge for the biggest trophies once again, noting that neither Robert Sánchez nor Filip Jörgensen ‘have proven themselves at the highest level’.
Donnarumma, on the other hand, certainly has, as the table below emphasises.
Goals conceded per 90
0.91
5th
Saves
35
13th
Save %
7.08%
20th
Clean sheet %
40%
9th
Post-shot xG – goals conceded
+2.2
13th
Crosses stopped
14
3rd
Punches
13
1st
High claims
13
4th
Errors leading to a goal
1
13th
Average SofaScore rating
7.1
16th
As the table highlights, Donnarumma was one of the very best goalkeepers in last season’s Champions League, a key factor behind PSG’s triumph in Munich, making crucial saves against Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa en route to the final.
Thus, while many of Chelsea’s recent signings have been acquired for money-trading purposes, viewed as assets or market opportunities more than key contributors, the Italian would instantaneously improve the Blues’ starting lineup in a way that, it could be argued, no one has done since Palmer joined two years ago.
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