The latest Chelsea goalkeeper pursuit has seen a breakthrough as the club is close to securing a deal for American goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, according to Fabrizio Romano. Real Madrid were pushing for Slonina, but their bid was rejected. Chicago Fire, the Major League Soccer club where Slonina stars, is expecting a transfer fee of €10 million.
Important hours ahead for Gabriel Slonina transfer. Real Madrid made official bid turned down by Chicago Fire last week – but Chelsea are also in talks to sign him, after being really close last February 🚨🇺🇸 #CFC
Decision to be made soon – gonna be one of MLS record transfers. pic.twitter.com/yrAYjITU6T
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 11, 2022
Chelsea Goalkeeper Transfer Hunt Gets Positive Boost
A Generational Prospect
Slonina is being hailed as a future star. He turned 18-years-old less than a month ago, meaning he’s yet to even reach his peak. The impressive part of this is that Slonina has already racked up plenty of starting experience. This season for Chicago, Slonina has five clean sheets in 13 MLS appearances.
First off, what makes the player special is his build. He’s both tall and long, with a very lengthy wingspan. His body type is similar to that of Gianluigi Donnarumma. Slonina is great at making himself bigger and imposing in goal, and also thrives in one-versus-one situations.
Slonina has very solid reflexes that are bound to improve. The only knock on his game right now is his mental lapses from time-t0-time, but he’s still a growing prospect. This can certainly be corrected.
There’s no doubt that Édouard Mendy is the man in goal for Chelsea now and in the near future. With that being said, securing Slonina is a move for the post-Mendy era at Chelsea. It would not be a surprise to see Slonina spend time away from Chelsea to gain more playing time, experience, and skill.
