Chelsea Need An Elite Goalkeeper To Lay The Foundation For Long-Term Success
Submitted by Andy_B on Tuesday, 07 March 2023 Page Views: 167
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For all of Chelsea’s massive outlay in the summer and winter transfer window, the Blues failed to address some major concerns, most especially in the goalkeeping department and crucially up front. Chelsea signed Benoit Badiashile from Monaco to add much more needed steel to the backline, while the return to fitness of his countryman, Wesley Fofana feels like a new signing. The Blues have won just 2 out of their last 15 matches, and there’s increasing pressure growing on the head coach, Graham Potter.For all of Chelsea’s well-documented struggles putting the ball in the back of the net, they have also had to deal with a goalkeeper who offers little or no confidence to the rest of his teammates, especially the defenders. Kepa Arrizabalaga is back to being the undisputed number 1 following the loss of Edouard Mendy to injury. The Spaniard is well-known as a good shot-stopper, but he struggles with concentration lapses and also struggles to impose himself in games, compared to the rest of the Blues’ rivals in England and across Europe.
Senegal international, Edouard Mendy is expected to be back in action in the next 2 weeks after a while out, but even before his injury, he had also struggled, especially since he returned from the 2022 African Nations Cup, making a series of very costly mistakes. The 31-year-old has also been distracted by contract issues, and it won’t be a surprise if he left Stamford Bridge this summer. Chelsea are expected to sign a goalkeeper this summer, and many names have been mentioned including Diogo Costa of Porto and Ilian Meslier of Leeds.
Costa is highly rated for his composure on the ball, and is also young at 23, and has also expressed his desire to play in the Premier League. He is currently Portugal’s number 1 goalkeeper and is widely regarded as one of the best in Europe. Meslier is regarded as the next best thing in France and is expected to be fast-tracked into the national team following the retirement of Hugo Lloris. Still only 23, he is Premier League-proven and can only get better. He has been likened to Thibaut Courtois because of his gangly nature and is also believed to be very ambitious as he knows a move to an elite European club will cement his place as France’s no 1 goalie for a long time.
Chelsea needs inspiration, but they’d need to start from the back. It will be very important.
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