Enzo Maresca sent simple Chelsea transfer demand after late deal collapses

EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea have had a busy start to the transfer window but were unable to get a deal over the line for AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan before the Club World Cup

Enzo Maresca has been urged to make Mike Maignan his Chelsea number one by former Blues goalkeeper Rob Green. The Blues have experienced plenty of overhaul between the sticks over the past few campaigns.

Kepa Arrizabalaga, Edouard Mendy and Robert Sanchez have all been the club’s number one choice over recent seasons, only for errors to see them dropped. Meanwhile, Chelsea have signed promising youngsters Filip Jorgensen, Djordje Petrovic and Mike Penders to leave their goalscoring department bloated.

Bizarrely, Chelsea attempted to sign yet another goalkeeper this summer in the form of AC Milan’s Maignan, only to see a deal collapse before the first deadline. The Londoners could yet revisit that deal but Green believes Maresca needs to make a final decision on his number one to immediately eliminate any more uncertainty.

Speaking exclusively to Mirror Football, the ex-England goalkeeper said: “They’ve got a lot of goalkeepers. You look at Petrovic and others who weren’t even at the club this season. You have five who could be competing for first team and that is too many in anyone’s squad. It needs clarification.

“If Mike Maignan comes in and you say that’s your number one, fine. It just needs that noise and unsettling nature of it to be nipped in the bud.

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“Mike Maignan has excelled whether that be for club or country. He’s proven what he can do. Playing at Stamford Bridge is a very unsettling place.

“You see it when Sanchez or Jorgensen are playing, you see it on them, especially with the way they’re playing has really forced them into a position of needing a goalkeeper to take on a role of huge responsibility.

“And I think sometimes a fresh start in all that is a good one to say ‘this is our man, he’s going to play’ and almost put it back on the fans and say ‘you deal with it’. I think that’s in a relationship way needs to be taken out of the goalkeeper’s hands and I think signing him [Maignan] could prove to be the answer.”

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And while Green has urged for clarification in goal, he thinks the opposite in the Chelsea attack. One of the Blues’ summer signings has been the £30m acquisition of Liam Delap from Ipswich.

With fellow forward Nicolas Jackson having had a busy summer from an international standpoint, Green believes the upcoming Club World Cup could be a golden opportunity for Delap to stake a claim in the team ahead of next season.

He said: “Immediately you’re thinking he’s going to be needing to be playing and fitting in as a centre-forward. It’s one where it’s a huge opportunity for him because pre-season is a limited time.

“You’ve got to get fit, get your work rate in, got to get game time in a very limited window before the season starts. So for him, it’s almost like a pre pre-season bonus to get yourself ingratiated within a squad and make your mark. It’ll be interesting to see how much he’s used.

“There’s a big emphasis on the centre-forward in the way Maresca plays so he’s got a huge role to play. He’s certainly one to keep an eye for Chelsea and for the coaching staff there you wonder how big it’s going to be for him because they need him.”

Chelsea will kick off their Club World Cup against MLS side LAFC on Monday evening before their second group game versus Brazilian side Flamengo. Maresca’s side round off their group stage against ES Tunis.

Rob Green was speaking ahead of the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup 2025. Watch all 63 games live on DAZN for free.

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