When Thibaut Cortois was called up to Real Madrid in 2018, Chelsea lost what has become the world’s best goalkeeper when he stays injury-free. For Real Madrid, the transfer has led the club to titles, for Chelsea a continuous goalkeeping crisis that is not finished. Now they are aiming for a goalkeeper who already plays big in the Premier League, with the potential to become one of the world’s best.
Kepa, Mendy. Then Sanchez and Jørgensen. Last month, Sanchez lost his first goalkeeper position after several blunders. Danish Filip Jørgensen was brought to Stamford Bridge in 2024, took over as the first goalkeeper, and voila, the Dane was also behind a goalkeeper blister against Aston Villa.
According to TBR Football, Chelsea are once again on the hunt for a new goalkeeper, with interest going back to a previous candidate: Bart Verbruggen.
The Brighton goalkeeper is everything the Chelsea manager wants in a goalkeeper who “plays form the back”. The Dutchman was considered by Chelsea before signing with Brighton in 2023, where the 22-year-old has so far made 54 appearances with a solid 14 clean sheets. For the Netherlands, Verbruggen has 18 games.
The English media claim that there is an agreement among Chelsea management to bring in a new first goalkeeper in the summer.
Brighton’s goalkeeper coach described Verbruggen to The Athletic as a goalkeeper who ends up as one of the world’s very best:
-He is incredibly good with his feet and has the ability to make passes that only the top goalkeepers can, and also the eye to see those passes, but he also has all the qualities of an old-fashioned goalkeeper: to stop the ball, save. He has a lot of things he needs to keep working on, but there’s no part of his game that’s really missing. He is a world-class professional and he is going to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
This is the goalkeeper Chelsea also need.
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