Chelsea welcome fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur to Stamford Bridge on Thursday night.
The Blues were beaten 1-0 by Arsenal in their final match before the recent international break, leaving Enzo Maresca’s side fourth in the Premier League table, but they have since fallen to sixth after both Manchester City and Newcastle United won on Wednesday evening.
A win against Spurs would not only see Chelsea complete the double over their rivals, but it would also move Maresca’s side back into the top four and put them in a commanding position in the race to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
This summer could be a busy one at Stamford Bridge with Maresca likely to want to make a number of changes to his squad, but it has emerged that one of the club’s transfer targets is set to stay put at his current side.
As reported by TBR Football, the West London side are interested in Brighton and Hove Albion goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
The report claims that Ben Roberts, who heads Chelsea’s goalkeeping department, is a huge admirer of the 22-year-old.
Sanchez has made a number of mistakes since joining Chelsea
Despite this, Verbruggen himself is said to have told Brighton that he has no intention of leaving The Amex during the upcoming summer transfer window.
Verbruggen joined Brighton from Belgian side Anderlecht in 2023 and has since played 59 times for the south coast club across all competitions, keeping 15 clean sheets.
Current Chelsea ‘keeper, Robert Sanchez, joined the club from Brighton in 2023 but has made a number of high profile errors for Maresca’s side this season.
Their other option between the sticks, Filip Jorgensen, has also struggled to maintain his best from and the club therefore appear to be on the hunt for reinforcements.
It is claimed that Premier League champions Manchester City are also interested in the Netherlands international, who has been capped 20 times by his country.