Photo by Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Xabi Alonso will be proud of Chelsea’s work in the summer window, but he is a perfectionist, and money no object, there is no doubt he would like a couple more signings.
Pep Chavarria looks set to become Chelsea’s 11th signing and take spending north of the £350m mark this summer. It comes after Jordan Henderson was announced as the club’s tenth arrival on Monday.
Henderson joins a new-look Chelsea side that includes new signings Morgan Rogers, Maxence Lacroix, Valentin Barco, Danny Welbeck and plenty of other new faces. But there are a couple of gaps left.
Chavarria sees Chelsea finally replace Marc Cucurella. Every area of the squad now looks well stocked and boasting plenty of competition, but Blues fans would love the club to sign a new goalkeeper this month.
Diogo Costa responds to reports Chelsea are in talks
It has emerged that Chelsea are in ‘advanced talks’ to sign Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa, if reports from Portugal are to be believed. Costa has a £51m release clause in his contract after signing an extension.
Portugal’s no.1, Costa is rated highly, and many see the 48-time Portugal star as the best goalkeeper currently playing his club football outside of Europe’s top-five leagues. He has a contract until June 2030.
Porto will want to keep Costa, but with the goalkeeper now 26, they will know that an exit is inevitable. Especially for a goalkeeper once described as “the best in the world” by Porto legend Vitor Baia.
SOCCER: JUL 06 FIFA World Cup 26 Round of 16 - Spain v Portugal
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On the weekend, Porto retained the Super Cup, and after the match, Costa was questioned about his Porto future. While he didn’t say he would remain at Porto, he did say that he was happy to remain.
“I’ve been linked with leaving this club for some time now. As I’ve done up to now, what I can say is that I’m very happy here and, while I’m here, I will always be the same player and the same person.”
The truth about Chelsea’s interest in signing Diogo Costa
Since the initial reports emerged from Portugal regarding Costa and potential talks with Chelsea, The Athletic has downplayed any suggestion that the Blues may do a deal for the Porto academy product.
Diogo Costa's and Robert Sanchez's stats
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That is not to say that Costa might not be of interest to Chelsea. But it is more likely due to the fact that Chelsea have already spent a small fortune this summer and need to sell players before buying again.
Trevoh Chalobah is due to complete a £31m move to Como, while Italian media continue to report that Napoli are close to the loan-to-buy signing of Benoit Badiashile. Goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen is leaving.
He is set to join Strasbourg on loan, after Genesis Antwi swapped BlueCo clubs. For now, it appears that Alonso will pick between Robert Sanchez and Mike Penders between the sticks, ahead of August 24.