Chelsea hope to persuade Rennes to sell Édouard Mendy, despite having their first offer of €16m (£14.2m) for the goalkeeper rejected.
With Kepa’s flaws last season, Frank Lampard is keen to sign a new goalkeeper after losing faith in Kepa Arrizabalaga, who has failed to convince since moving to Stamford Bridge for a world record fee of £72.6m two years ago. However, Chelsea are struggling to find a club capable of affording Arrizabalaga and although they have considered trying to replace him with Atlético Madrid’s Jan Oblak, they have started to look at cheaper options to compete with the Spaniard.
It is understood that Chelsea would need to pay Oblak’s £109m release clause to lure him away from Atlético, making a deal unlikely. They have already spent heavily on other areas – they have paid big fees to land Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell, while Malang Sarr and Thiago Silva have joined on free transfers – and are closing in on a £90m deal to sign Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen.
However, Lampard does not trust Arrizabalaga, who was dropped on two occasions last season, and Chelsea have tracked Mendy for a while. Their first offer for the Senegalese goalkeeper has been turned down and they are expected to return with a €20m bid.
Rennes, who are interested in signing the Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori on loan, do not want to lose Mendy this summer. They signed the 28-year-old only last year, from Reims.
Other possible goalkeeping targets for Chelsea include Lille’s Mike Maignan and PSG’s Aphonse Areola and Donnarumma which is highly prized by A.C Milan at a whooping cost of at least 50 million, young in age and ardent in ability. Lampard is still considering further defensive reinforcements despite signing Silva after the 35-year-old centre-back’s departure from Paris Saint-Germain. Chelsea are interested in West Ham’s Declan Rice.
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