Chelsea have been scouting Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa as they plan to address their goalkeeping situation in the summer, according to 90min.
The Blues currently have three goalkeeper options in their senior squad; Kepa Arrizabalaga, Edouard Mendy, and Marcus Bettinelli.
Bettinelli, in particular, will likely leave the club as his contract expires at the end of this season.
There are also questions about Arrizabalaga and Mendy’s future at the club whose contracts both expire in 2025.
Arrizabalaga has recently reclaimed the starting goalkeeper spot under Graham Potter after playing second fiddle to Mendy for the last two seasons.
Interestingly, despite Arrizabalaga’s impressive form, the Evening Standard recently claimed Chelsea are still looking to bring in a new No1 this summer.
According to 90min, Porto’s Costa, who is reportedly valued at £65million, is a potential target for the Blues.
Chelsea scouts have reportedly been in the stands to watch the Portugal international in recent weeks.
If the report is true, then these Chelsea representatives must have liked what they saw since Costa has only conceded two goals in six games since returning from the World Cup.
This is impressive considering he had a difficult World Cup in which he made an error described as “terrible goalkeeping” by Paul Merson during the quarter-final defeat to Morocco.
The 23-year-old has kept 10 clean sheets in Liga Portugal, the joint-second highest in the competition this season.
However, Chelsea are not the only Premier League club interested in the Porto star, as Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have been scouting him.
Aside from Costa, 90min mentions that Chelsea have also been compiling reports on potential targets from the Premier League, such as Brentford’s David Raya, Brighton’s Robert Sanchez and Everton’s Jordan Pickford.
[READ NEXT] ‘Replaced Leandro Trossard seamlessly’: Chelsea tipped to sign Brighton winger for £30m
Stan Collymore has predicted on CaughtOffSide that Graham Potter’s Chelsea could make a bid for Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Kaoru Mitoma, a player Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have been linked with.
The former Liverpool striker has raved about Mitoma, and the pundit thinks that Chelsea could try to sign the 25-year-old Japan international winger from Premier League rivals Brighton in the summer of 2023.
Collymore believes that Chelsea could be able to bring in the winger for £30 million.
Mitoma has been linked with Chelsea’s London and Premier League rivals Arsenal.
90min reported in January that Arsenal were looking at the Japanese winger.
The Gunners eventually signed Leandro Trossard from Brighton.
The Sun have suggested that Arsenal’s interest in Mitoma is still there.
CHELSEA TIPPED TO BID FOR BRIGHTON WINGER KAORU MITOMA
Collymore wrote: “The reason Brighton paid such a low fee for Kaoru Mitoma, around £3m, is because, in Japanese football, most agents demand their clients are only given short-term deals.
“They do it for the players who they believe have a decent resale value so they earn a nice commission and can move them on if they come to the Premier League and do well.
As for the 25-year-old, he is highlighting how good Brighton’s setup is. He’s settled in really well and appears to have replaced Leandro Trossard seamlessly.
“Obviously, his ability is there for all to see so I’d be amazed if, come the end of the season, some of the bigger teams weren’t making offers for him.
“He isn’t going to command a huge fee. He’ll have two years left on his deal and he was bought for virtually nothing, so from a commercial point of view, even a £30m offer, which would be over a 500 per cent return on investment in just 12 months, would be too good for Brighton to turn down.
“And, as we all know, that kind of deal is something Chelsea’s new owner would lick his lips at.”
COULD A TRANSFER HAPPEN?
We do not think that Chelsea will show interest in Brighton and Hove Albion winger Kaoru Mitoma in the summer of 2023.
Yes, the Japanese star is doing well at the moment, but Chelsea already have enough attacking players.
It is unlikely that the former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners will want to bring in another winger in the summer of 2023.
It is glaringly obvious that Chelsea need to sign a number 9.
And even if Chelsea did try to sign him, we do not think that Brighton will sell Mitoma for £30 million.
The Seagulls will want much more that that.
In other news, Amadou Onana left surprised by £40m Newcastle United player
SOURCE: thechelseachronicle.com, hitc.com
