Chelsea in the mix to sign a “world class” £35m star

How many more new signings will Chelsea make before the transfer window closes on 1 September?

So far, the Blues have brought in eight new recruits, including João Pedro and Liam Delap, both of whom featured during their victorious Club World Cup campaign, as well as Estêvão Willian, Jamie Gittens, Kendry Páez, and others.

However, they are far from done yet, with Xavi Simons on course to arrive from RB Leipzig, while they remain interested in Alejandro Garnacho of Manchester United, as the Blues seemingly aim to sign all the attacking midfielders and wingers.

Now, could Enzo Maresca’s side strengthen the other end of the pitch, targeting a repeat of Thiago Silva’s arrival from five years ago?

Chelsea targeting a new goalkeeper

As outlined by Nizaar Kinsella of BBC Sport, many believe Chelsea need a new first-choice goalkeeper if they’re to challenge for the Premier League and Champions League, with a lot of observers remaining unconvinced by Robert Sánchez.

The table below documents why.

As the table outlines, Sánchez’s statistics in the Premier League last season were, at best, mixed, ranked first for save percentage, but also first for errors leading to goals, hence why a team with aspirations of winning the title may want better.

With that in mind, according to a report by Ahad Shaukat of Caught Offside, Chelsea are ‘in the mix’ to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain, with Manchester United and Manchester City also interested.

Les Rouge-et-Bleu are closing in on the signing of Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier, so are looking to offload their Italian shot-stopper, valued at around £35m, according to a report by La Repubblica.

So, could Donnarumma become the latest Italian superstar to call Stamford Bridge home, following in the footsteps of Gianfranco Zola, Roberto Di Matteo, Gianluca Vialli, and many others?

How Gianluigi Donnarumma would improve Chelsea

Amazingly, Donnarumma is still only 26 years old, having made his senior debut for AC Milan a decade ago, racking up 251 appearances for the Rossoneri, before featuring 161 times for Paris Saint-Germain, since moving to the French capital in 2021.

On top of this, he has racked up 74 caps for Italy, currently Gli Azzurri’s captain, having been instrumental to their triumph at Euro 2020, named player of the tournament following his exploits in the shootout victory over England.

Then-Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti asserted ahead of Euro 2024 that the goalkeeper is “world-class”, while his agent Vincenzo Raiola, who admittedly isn’t a neutral observer, believes he is the “best goalkeeper in the world” who “deserves [to win] the Ballon d’Or”.

Well, let’s put those assertions to the test.

As the table documents, Donnarumma was a key figure in the Paris Saint-Germain side that won the Champions League last season, posting very impressive statistics across the board, emphasising that he is a top-class goalkeeper, even if he is no longer wanted by the European champions.

Similarly, five years ago, Thiago Silva was deemed surplus to requirements in the French capital, cast aside when his PSG contract expired in 2020, before proving he certainly still had the quality to compete at the highest level after joining Chelsea, making 155 appearances across four seasons in West London, most notably winning the Champions League.

Tom Sanderson of the Guardian documents that the Brazilian centre-back was very ‘successful’ during his time at Chelsea, able to perform at a very high level, labelling him a ‘great leader’.

Well, albeit significantly younger, all available evidence suggests that Donnarumma could have a similar impact, should he arrive at Stamford Bridge later this month, given his performances on the pitch and the leadership qualities that he could provide.