Chelsea's deal for Mike Maignan is officially off, as the club has walked away from negotiations, according to Fabrizio Romano. This comes after AC Milan insisted on a transfer fee of €21- 30 million for the goalkeeper. However, Chelsea were only willing to offer a maximum of €15 million, primarily aiming to have him available for the Club World Cup.
Chelsea also maintained that they would not pay such a high amount for a player with only one year left on his contract.
The club is reportedly satisfied with their current goalkeeping options, which include Robert Sánchez, Đorđe Petrović, Lucas Bergström, and talented youth prospect, Penders. They believe these options are sufficient for their Club World Cup ambitions.
Romano also reported that Chelsea “won’t pay a Club World Cup tax.” The breakdown of the Maignan deal could prove costly for AC Milan, who are gambling on retaining a player in the final year of his contract. Milan now risk losing the goalkeeper for free. Notably, Maignan was keen on the move to Chelsea. Milan’s decision to block the transfer might harm their relationship with the player and could lead to a loss of trust between Maignan and the club's management.
Chelsea have now turned their attention to Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. However, it remains to be seen if that deal will materialize, as Dortmund value the player at over €60-70 million. This valuation is seen by some as excessive, considering Gittens has scored just 8 Bundesliga goals.
Reports indicate there is confidence from both sides that an agreement could be reached. Chelsea are not in a rush ahead of the Club World Cup. The deal, however, may still collapse — even though Gittens is said to be keen on the move and has already agreed to personal terms with Chelsea on a contract running until 2032.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have other young options available for the Club World Cup, including Andrey Santos, Liam Delap, and Malang Sarr.
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