From Italy: Chelsea face competition to sign world class free agent | OneFootball

Chelsea could reportedly be up against Juventus in the race to snap up AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan on a free transfer next summer.

The France international is one of the top goalkeepers in world football right now, and is looking poised to become one of the most tempting free agents on the market.

Maignan is close to the end of his contract with Milan and Chelsea remain interested after trying to sign him in the summer, though Juventus are now also expected to be in the race, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

Chelsea will no doubt hope they can remain strong contenders for Maignan’s signature as he would surely be a significant upgrade on the unconvincing Robert Sanchez.

Chelsea still need Mike Maignan after failed summer transfer

AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan in action against Napoli (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Chelsea must have some regrets that they didn’t get a deal done for Maignan over the summer, though AS Roma Live recently reported that the Blues were still confident of winning the race for his signature.

At the time, Alfredo Pedulla reported for Football Italia that Chelsea were not keen to pay more than €15m for Maignan.

With hindsight, this looks like a mistake, especially considering quite how much the west London giants splashed the cash on signings for other areas of their squad.

Still, if CFC can land a proven world class ‘keeper like Maignan on a free, that would still be great business and probably worth the wait.

The competition from Juventus could be a worry, though, as we’ll have to see how much Maignan is keen to leave Italy for England.

The 30-year-old might not relish such a big change of scene at this stage of his career, so that might give Juve the edge, even if the Premier League is also generally seen as a tempting destination by most.