Chelsea to make offer for “phenomenal” £35m star

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.

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.

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.

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.