Chelsea's move for AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan is set to collapse, talkSPORT understands.
The Blues had set their sights on snapping up the France international in the 10-day June summer transfer window, which closes tonight, ahead of their Club World Cup campaign.
Mike Maignan has made 163 appearances for Milan since joining from Lille in 2021
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Mike Maignan has made 163 appearances for Milan since joining from Lille in 2021Credit: Getty
talkSPORT previously reported that the west Londoners had made an approach to sign the shot stopper, who has just one year left on his current contract with the Serie A giants.
However, a move for the 29-year-old now appears to be off, with Chelsea no longer optimistic a deal can be completed today.
With Milan demanding around £25million to secure Maignan's services, the Blues are prepared to walk away from talks altogether, who have no shortage of goalkeeping options as it is.
The Blues have planned to simply rank their current options of Robert Sanchez, Filip Jorgensen, Djordje Petrovic and the highly-rated Mike Penders during the Club World Cup.
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And if Maignan's move to Stamford Bridge is not completed today, the club will not continue their pursuit of him when the transfer window reopens on June 16.
According to talkSPORT's chief football correspondent Alex Crook, Chelsea have already informed Milan of this.
He discussed the increasingly unlikely transfer on talkSPORT's White and Jordan, where he revealed there is a huge gap in the two club's valuation of Maignan.
Crook said: “It doesn’t look like this is going to happen now, between now and the 7pm deadline.
“Chelsea have told Milan that if they don’t get a deal done today, they will walk away, this is a deal specifically in mind to get him signed in time for the Club World Cup.
“I think Milan feel this is a bit of brinkmanship and that when the window reopens next Monday, Chelsea may well be back at the table.
Maignan is AC Milan's current captain
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Maignan is AC Milan's current captainCredit: Getty
“Chelsea are willing to pay £15m and Milan value him at £25m, so obviously a big gap in valuation.
“So as we sit here now, Chelsea are not optimistic that deal will get done."
And while it may be now or never for Maignan, Crook revealed it is a different story for another Blues target, with the club prepared to resume talks with Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens later on in the transfer window.
He continued: “It’s a slightly different scenario with Chelsea and Jamie Gittens at Dortmund - again, there’s a gap in valuation between the two clubs but, unlike with Maignan, they have suggested to Dortmund they’re willing to continue negotiating throughout the summer to try and get that deal done.”
Alex Crook's verdict
“I think for Chelsea they just saw an opportunity for a good value signing in Maignan, so maybe they’re going to be true to their word and they won’t go above £15m and maybe they will stick with the goalkeepers they’ve got.
“Robert Sanchez is very admired by Ben Roberts who is in charge of the overall goalkeeping department there - he had Sanchez at Brighton and was instrumental in his arrival at Stamford Bridge.
“You’ve got Filip Jorgensen who came in and did OK at times.
“But I still think that position it’s a big problem for Chelsea. I don’t think they’ve got a top class one.
“None of the goalkeepers they have are quite the finished article, and if you’re talking about challenging for Premier League titles and being competitive in the Champions League, I think they do need a new one.
“Of course, one goalkeeper is on his way out in Kepa - he’s joining Arsenal to be back-up there for £5m after his year on loan at Bournemouth last season.”
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