Chelsea have learned they will need to pay a significant fee of £35million (€41.6m / $45.2m) to sign Mads Hermansen from fellow Premier League club Leicester City, according to a reporter.
Chelsea have been tipped to enter the market for a new goalkeeper amid concerns surrounding the form of current No 1 Robert Sanchez. It was recently revealed that Chelsea are eyeing Porto’s Diogo Costa, but he is not the only keeper on their radar.
In July, it emerged that Maresca had wanted Leicester’s Hermansen to join Chelsea, rather than the backup keeper they actually signed in Filip Jorgensen.
Maresca knows Hermansen well from his time at Leicester and likes the Dane’s ability to play out from the back.
Journalist Ben Jacobs has revealed Hermansen’s price tag at Leicester but suggested Chelsea would rather rely on some of their other keeper options. 19-year-old Mike Penders, currently on loan at Genk, is viewed as a future star in particular.
“Leicester have no plans to lose Mads Hermansen mid-season. It would likely take £35m+ to change that. The bigger fear is if Leicester go down, Hermansen would be very hard to keep,” Jacobs told GiveMeSport.
“It was the same with James Maddison and Harvey Barnes. It’s true that Enzo Maresca really trusted and liked Hermansen when he was Leicester manager, but Chelsea are not urgently seeking another goalkeeper. There is still trust in Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen to compete for the number one spot.
“It’s also worth adding that along with Djordje Petrovic, who is on-loan at Strasbourg, Mike Penders will arrive in summer 2025. He is rated extremely highly. Chelsea believe the 19-year-old has enormous potential.”
Maresca recently had to reiterate that Sanchez is his first-choice keeper, with Jorgensen impressing in competitions such as the Europa Conference League and League Cup.
It makes sense that Chelsea have been linked with Hermansen, given the fact Maresca has already reunited with former Leicester ace Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
But Chelsea already have a number of shot-stoppers on their books and this means the Blues are likely to bolster different positions in 2025.
Chelsea transfers: Surprise exit, striker setback
Meanwhile, reports claim Chelsea are ready to listen to offers for big-money signing Enzo Fernandez.
While Fernandez’s future at Stamford Bridge is becoming uncertain, the West London side have been consistently linked with capturing striker Victor Osimhen as a top-class addition to their forward line.
After a transfer to Chelsea failed to materialise in the summer, Osimhen left Napoli by joining Galatasaray on a season-long loan.
Chelsea have been backed to revisit their interest in Osimhen at the end of the campaign. But Turkish reports state Galatasaray want to win the race to sign the goal machine permanently and have already drawn up a bid.
That offer is worth €50m (£42m/$54m), though this is far less than the asking price Napoli have given Osimhen.
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