The 2018 transfer window is the year of goalkeepers. Every team wants a goalie and teams could all be switching their starters this season.
Yesterday, Liverpool signed Brazilian and Roma keeper Alisson Becker for £66.7 million, making him the most expensive goalie in history. Real Madrid is very keen on signing Chelsea and 2018 Golden Glove winner Thibaut Courtois as their new starter. The only way that deal will happen is if Maurizio Sarri finds a replacement.
With Alisson off the table, the top two candidates are Leicester’s Danish keeper Kasper Schmeichel and former Chelsea star and current Arsenal goalie Petr Cech. Both would be much cheaper than the £66.7 million Liverpool spent on Alisson and could be decent enough to put Chelsea in the top-four.
Chelsea are looking at Petr Cech or Kasper Schmeichel as possible replacements for Thibaut Courtois, reports @SkyKaveh 👀 pic.twitter.com/0Y5pNPVbwB
— B/R Football (@brfootball) July 17, 2018
Schmeichel is the best option between Sarri’s two choices. Schmeichel is 31 and still has a lot of years left to become an even better goalkeeper than he already is. While Petr Cech is a Chelsea legend, his form has started to decline at the age of 36. Having a top-class keeper can be the difference between finishing in the top four or outside the top four.
Leicester looking at Danny Ward
Schmeichel also could be on the move with Leicester attempting to bring in Liverpool goalkeeper Danny Ward. Reports suggest that a fee has been agreed upon between the two clubs, but Ward isn’t being brought in as Schmeichel’s replacement. Ward offers good competition to Schmeichel being 25-years old and a decent goalkeeper.
Despite not being Schmeichel’s replacement, Leicester signing Ward could signal the direction of the club signing younger players that can become Foxes for life. Schmeichel proved he can play against top-class talent at the World Cup this summer and when he led Leicester to the title in 2016. Joining Chelsea would heighten his game and give him regular, European football.
The chain reaction we are seeing with goalkeepers is crazy. The Courtois move to Madrid would create total chaos in the goalkeeper movement and offer Sarri a chance to buy all the Serie A players he is interested in, namely Daniele Rugani and Gonzalo Higuain.
Developments will happen in the future. In three weeks, it would be very shocking to see Courtois in Madrid, Schmeichel in Chelsea blue, and Danny Ward as the Foxes new guardian of the posts.