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3 months ago
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Chelsea have offered £17million plus add-ons for Villarreal goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen in a bid to strengthen their goalkeeping options.
The 22-year-old is thought to be keen to join the west London club and compete with current No 1 Robert Sanchez, amid growing interest from Saudi side Al-Ittihad.
Jorgensen served as the La Liga club's first-choice keeper last season, making 37 appearances in all competitions as they narrowly missed out on a European place.
The 22-year-old is a regular for Denmark's Under-21 side, having previously represented Sweden at multiple youth levels. It is believed Chelsea are also offering £1.7million (€2m) in add-ons as part of the deal.
Since succeeding Mauricio Pochettino in the Stamford Bridge dugout, manager Enzo Maresca has set about bolstering his depth between the sticks, with Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen also linked with the club.
Chelsea have offered £17million plus add-ons for Villarreal goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen (pictured, in May)
The Villareal goalkeeper is said to be keen to fight it out with Robert Sanchez (pictured, in February) for the No 1 shirt
The Danish youth international is one of several goalkeeping options earmarked by Blues boss Enzo Maresca (pictured, last Thursday)
Meanwhile Kepa Arrizabalaga looks set to depart Chelsea this summer after six years at the club
Djordje Petrovic and Robert Sanchez arrived last summer from New England Revolution and Brighton respectively.
Sanchez initially served as the club's No 1 before a knee injury against Everton in December ruled him out for much of the remainder of the campaign.
Petrovic deputised well in his absence and went on to make 31 appearances in all for the Blues, starting in their EFL Cup final defeat against Liverpool in February.
Chelsea also still have the sport's most expensive goalkeeper of all-time on their books.
Kepa Arrizabalaga spent last season out on loan at Real Madrid and there has been a host of clubs interested in securing his signature this summer as it appears increasingly unlikely he will remain in west London.
The Spain international has just one year remaining on his contract and has been training away from the first-team since reporting for pre-season at Cobham.
Interestingly, Kepa is also being eyed by Al-Ittihad, who have earmarked both stoppers as alternatives to Manchester City's Ederson. The Brazilian's fee could be deemed too expensive for the club to pursue.
The latest development in Chelsea's transfer window comes after the omissions of Romelu Lukaku, Arrizabalaga, Trevoh Chalobah, Cesare Casadei, David Datro Fofana and Malang Sarr from the club's pre-season tour fuelled speculation that they could leave Stamford Bridge permanently.
Chelsea's £97.5m signing Romelu Lukaku is widely expected to leave after two years away on loan
Trevoh Chalobah (pictured, left, in May) is a surprise name left out of the side's pre-season tour and now could be set to leave
Cesare Casadei and David Datro Fofana are among other big names omitted from the squad
Malang Sarr (pictured, in 2022) trained with the under-21 team last season after a loan move fell through
The club have named a 28-man squad that will fly out to the United States, with their first game against Wrexham in California on Wednesday.
Enzo Maresca's side will then go on to face Celtic, Club America, Premier League rivals Manchester City, before concluding the tour with a game against Real Madrid in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 7.
The six players arrived at Chelsea for a combined £190m - though Chalobah didn't cost a penny as he came through the club's academy, while Sarr joined as a free agent after his contract at Nice expired.
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