With Xabi Alonso coming in as the new manager of the club, Chelsea will be looking to strengthen their roster this summer. But unfortunately, it looks like some players might be lining up to leave. Of course, there are a number of reasons for that. Some exits are bound to have a negative impact on the team. Others, not so much. Then there are those which might be necessary in order to raise funds for a roster rebuild.
One area where the club’s future plans remain uncertain is goalkeeper. Robert Sanchez is the number one right now. But will he be next season?
There have been rumours of another move for Mike Maignan, who might be looking to leave AC Milan after their failure to qualify for the Champions League alongside the departure of Max Allegri. On the other hand, some others have suggested that Mike Penders could be brought back. Amid all this, one name that has gotten lost in the shuffle is Filip Jorgensen.
According to a report from Nizaar Kinsella on BBC Sport, Jorgensen has indicated his desire to leave the club over a lack of game time. The Danish international has told head of global goalkeeping Ben Roberts that he wants consistent first-team football.
Are Chelsea ready to let Filip Jorgensen leave this summer?
Jorgensen had tried to engineer a move away from Chelsea in the winter transfer window as well. But it did not end up happening back then. The Blues were not willing to part ways with the cover option in the middle of the campaign and leave themselves weakened between the posts.
But the new report goes to state that Chelsea are open to a departure on the part of Jorgensen but only on favourable terms. They had previously blocked the goalkeeper’s attempts to depart in January.
Interest had already been registered in the last transfer window from Besiktas, Genoa and FC Porto. But Premier League clubs are also expected to be interested in signing Jorgensen this time around.
But it has been pointed out that no move is understood to be close so soon after the end of the season. Let’s see how this situation materialises over the coming weeks and months.
Should the club part ways with Jorgensen and bring back Penders?
If Jorgensen does leave, that would make the goalkeeping situation at Chelsea very interesting to say the least. Who would be the other option there next season?
Would they finally go out and sign Maignan? If they do so, it is hard to imagine that Sanchez would be happy enough to convince as the cover option. He might try to leave as a result of that.
On the other hand, if Penders is brought back then it might end up having a negative impact on his development as a player. He could do with regular first-team minutes elsewhere rather than being a backup to Sanchez.
But if Maignan is signed and Sanchez leaves, then it would be pretty inevitable for Penders to be brought back. A lot might end up depending on Alonso as well. Does he see his current goalkeeping options as good enough, or would he like to make changes?
Sourav Mahanty
Sourav Mahanty has covered teams like Chelsea, Celtic, Real Madrid, Manchester United, PSG and more over a career that has now lasted a decade. His work has been featured on Sports Illustrated, Athlon Sports, SB Nation, FanSided, The Sportster and aggregated through Bleacher Report and NewsNow. Outside of football, he is also interested in basketball, cricket and professional wrestling.
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