Roma reject €50m Chelsea bid for Mile Svilar | OneFootball

As reported by Corriere dello Sport, Roma have rejected a €50m approach from Chelsea for their star goalkeeper, Mile Svilar.

The 26-year-old Serbian, who arrived in the Italian capital on a free four years ago after leaving Benfica, has firmly established himself as Roma’s numero uno and one of the best in Serie A. With second-most clean sheets in the league last season, his perseverance between the sticks played a crucial role in the Giallorossi clinching a Champions League spot on the final day on the season.

Duly, Svilar’s performances have not gone unnoticed, and it’s hardly a surprise that Chelsea are leading the interest in him from the Premier League. For all the acquisitions they have made since the change of ownership, which includes a fair few goalkeeper, the Blues remain in the hunt for a reliable operator in goal.

Neither Filip Jørgensen nor Robert Sánchez have been convincing enough, and with the club looking to turn over a new leaf with new boss Xabi Alonso, it is likely they’ll look to invest in a new starting goalkeeper ahead of next season. Intermediaries close to the Blues knocked on the Giallorossi’s doors but it slammed in their faces, even if the Blues were willing to offer upto €50 million for the keeper.

Roma too have their reasons for wanting to move on Mile Svilar, who is one of their most prized assets. They need to generate around €50m to €60m in capital gains to comply with UEFA regulations before June ends; with Svilar having joined the club as a free agent, any sale would directly contribute to bringing down that number, if not outright clear the deficit.

Svilar’s current contract with Roma, fetching a gross annual salary of €4.36 million, is currently set to run until June 2030.

Svilar can leave Roma

Ideally, Roma would like to keep Svilar, as is clear from their immediate response to Chelsea’s initial offer. But, financial realities dictate they may not have much of a choice.

Svilar has been building up a reputation for a few years now. In many ways, one could say he has been on an upwards trajectory ever since scoring an own-goal against José Mourinho’s Man United in the 2017/18 Champions League group stage while playing for Benfica; a little over five years later he won the Conference League at Roma under Mourinho.

Time is also running out for Roma to meet UEFA’s financial requirements ahead of next season, so they have to move Svilar on out of necessity. That he’s not playing at the World Cup makes quick move that much more likely.

Anshuman Joshi | GIFN