Chelsea had the opportunity to sign Italy international Gianluigi Donnarumma as a free agent this summer. The player left AC Milan since the two parties were unable to reach an agreement regarding the financial side of things.
As a result, the Italian keeper ended up joining Paris Saint-Germain to compete for game time with Keylor Navas. He recently made his Champions League debut with PSG against Manchester City, and kept a clean sheet against the Premier League champions as they won the game.
Donnarumma won the player of the tournament award at Euro 2020 ahead of all the star forwards and midfielders as Italy lifted the trophy after half a century. But, Chelsea had already put their faith in Edouard Mendy from the season before and had no plans of replacing the Senegalese keeper.
Mendy has been sensational since his arrival at Stamford Bridge and has helped to completely transform Chelsea’s defense. The player kept the most number of clean sheets in the Champions League last season as they lifted the trophy, and has kept more clean sheets than goals conceded since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel at the club.
Most recently, Mendy starred in Chelsea’s 1-0 win against Brentford and was crucial in denying the Bees a goal in the game. His second half performances earned him the man of the match award and confirmed the quality that Chelsea saw in him when signing the player from Rennes.
The goalkeeper will turn 30 next year, and is seen as a vital part of the future by the Chelsea board.
