TBR Football can exclusively confirm that Chelsea have set their sights on a £16million goalkeeper backed to become one of the best in the world.
Chelsea’s main goalkeepers, Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen, have both come under criticism over the course of the season.
Sanchez, who joined Chelsea from Brighton & Hove Albion in 2023 for £19million, has struggled to stake a serious claim to be a regular starter.
Jorgensen has been challenging Sanchez, but the jury is also out on him, particularly in wake of the error which gifted Villa a late win at the weekend.
Chelsea are now doing their work on targets who could potentially replace them, and no fewer than three names are in their sights.
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Bart Verbruggen, Zion Suzuki and Marco Carnesecchi on Chelsea radar
TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey has confirmed that one interesting name that has come up in Chelsea’s search for a goalkeeper is Bart Verbruggen.
The Brighton stopper fits everything that Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca wants – he is insistent that a new goalkeeper needs to play from the back.
Chelsea’s interest in Verbuggen goes back a few y ears – he was looked at very closely by the Blues in 2023 before he joined Brighton.
Chelsea’s head of goalkeeping Ben Robert is tasked with looking at the best options, and we understand Verbuggen is emerging as someone of interest.
He is enjoying a very good season and he is hugely competent with his footwork.
Chelsea have been doing their work on a host of names and we understand there are two in Serie A who standout.
One of the Italy-based players Chelsea have done a lot of work on in recent months is Parma’s Zion Suzuki.
He is also hugely adept with the ball at his feet – and the same is true of Atalanta’s Marco Carnesecchi, who has had another stand-out campaign.
TBR Football understands that Chelsea’s hierarchy are in agreement that a new number one is required this summer.
What could Bart Verbruggen bring to Chelsea?
Verbruggen joined Brighton from Anderlecht for around £16million back in 2023 and he has made a real name for himself in the Premier League.
The 22-year-old has made 54 appearances for the Seagulls, keeping 14 clean sheets, and has also won 18 caps for the Netherlands.
Jack Stern, Brighton’s goalkeeping coach, told The Athletic last year: “He’s incredibly good with his feet and has the ability to execute passes that only the top goalkeepers can and also the vision to see those passes.
“But he’s also got all the attributes of an old-fashioned goalkeeper: stopping the ball, making saves. He’s good coming for crosses and defending his box.
“He’s dominant and good at defending the space outside his box. He doesn’t really have a key area of weakness.
“He’s got lots of things that he needs to keep working on, but there’s no area of his game that’s really lacking.”
Stern added: “When we signed him we were sure we were getting a really good person as well as a really good goalkeeper.
“He’s a world-class professional and he’s going to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world eventually.”