Chelsea have been pushed all the way to the wall to find a new top quality goalkeeper with only two days to go to the end of the transfer window, after Thibaut Courtois reportedly told Maurizio Sarri he no longer wants to play for the club.
Great goalkeepers are in short supply on the market now, and goalkeepers take time to gel and understand how new leagues and teams operate. Even the very best struggle at times while adapting to a new league and Chelsea will be scratching their heads for answers about who to turn to.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Chelsea will enter negotiations with Atletico Madrid for the signing of their number one goalkeeper Jan Oblak, and they are willing to pay the hefty asking price of £89million. Whether they will convince the player to move to England is a smart call isn’t clear.
Jack Butland and Jordan Pickford have showed promise and look good in the Premier League already. There have been serious links for one of the two and Chelsea’s top brass will be wise enough to sign a player with Premier League knowledge rather than a player who will take month to acclimatise with the demands of the best league in the world.
Sarri has no time to experiment, and although Oblak is a cut above Pickford and Butland, the latter two’s experience in the top flight, coupled with the fact it will less difficult snatching them in the final hours of the transfer window, might make them a better option overall.
