Fabrizio Romano confirms Chelsea bid for crucial signing with immediate answer expected

Chelsea have submitted an offer for AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed, with the value of the bid and when the response can be expected coming to light – while a top Italian sports paper has revealed two players the Blues have tried to sweeten the deal with.

Maignan has become a top target for Chelsea as they aim to rectify their mistakes in the goalkeeper position. TEAMtalk has reported for several months that a new goalkeeper was on the menu for Enzo Maresca’s side after Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen both failed to convince.

Chelsea have narrowed their search for a new no.1 down to Maignan, with whom they recently reached an agreement on personal terms, as revealed by our correspondent Rudy Galetti.

The next step is to try and persuade Milan to sell, which Chelsea have now started working towards by submitting a bid for the France international.

Romano has revealed that Chelsea’s offer is worth €15m (£12.6m/$17.1m). It’s now up to Milan to respond.

Maignan is the Rossoneri’s captain, but his contract is about to enter its final year and talks over a renewal have stumbled.

Chelsea want to bring in Maignan before the Club World Cup, which means they have either today, tomorrow or Tuesday to get the deal done.

According to Italian newspaper Gazzetta Dello Sport, the answer could come even within the next few hours. The expectation is that Milan will give in, knowing that Maignan wants the move.

Besides, Gazzetta Dello Sport explains that Milan backtracked on their offer to extend Maignan’s contract until 2029 at €5m per season (£81,000 per week) due to concerns about his performance and physical condition.

It’s claimed that the deal with Chelsea will either be fully agreed later today (Sunday) or tomorrow (Monday) at the latest.

AC Milan reject two Chelsea counterparts and pick preferred replacement

Chelsea have had to increase their planned outlay for Maignan, but they have also managed to get Milan to drop their demands, in the hope of finding an ideal compromise.

The version of events presented by Gazzetta Dello Sport also claims Chelsea tried to offer one of two goalkeepers on their books to Milan as a counterpart.

According to the pink paper, Djordje Petrovic and Kepa Arrizabalaga were both suggested to Milan, after their loan spells at Strasbourg and Bournemouth respectively.

Milan said no to either option – with Kepa now being linked with Arsenal, in addition to the option of staying at Bournemouth – and instead have chosen Roma’s Mile Svilar as their ideal target to replace Maignan.

Svilar was named the best goalkeeper in Serie A for the 2024-25 season, playing all 38 games for Roma. However, he remains on the contract he signed when he joined the club in 2022 as a backup, at just €800,000 per year (about £13,000 per week).

Roma’s attempts to improve Svilar’s salary have yet to reach their desired outcome, which has led to other clubs being on alert.

TEAMtalk recently revealed Svilar has entered Manchester United’s radar, but Milan are ready to make their own move for him.

Roma would ask for at least €30m (£25.3m/$34.2m), but Milan could look to orchestrate their own part-exchange deal by including Alexis Saelemaekers, the versatile wide player who spent 2024-25 on loan in the Italian capital.

If that doesn’t appease, Milan’s alternatives include Parma’s Zion Suzuki and former Leeds United deputy Elia Caprile, currently on loan at Cagliari from Napoli.

Chelsea transfer news: Striker target identified/Big Barcelona move

In other news, Chelsea have identified a new target at the other end of the pitch.

Sources have told TEAMtalk that Chelsea are looking at a Brighton attacker as an alternative to Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike.

However, for the player in question, just like with Ekitike, they will be facing competition from some Premier League rivals.

There have also been some big claims in Spain about Chelsea launching a move for a Barcelona midfielder.

All this spending will mean Chelsea will have to balance the books and on that front, there has been news of a potential departure.

Indeed, Chelsea have reportedly received an approach from Newcastle for one of their current wingers.

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