Chelsea set £20m budget in backup goalkeeper search — report

Kepa Arrizabalaga left Chelsea for Real Madrid on a season-long loan last week — and upon arriving, declared his intention to stay there for good — which means that we need to look for a new backup to new No.1 goalkeeper Robert Sánchez. And ideally, we’d do that for no more than £20m, as per a report from the Evening Standard.

That may not be an easy task at this point. That budget rules out potential (and previously linked) top players like Borussia Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel or Valencia’s Giorgi Mamardashvili, and might have us turning to someone like Djordje Petrović. The 23-year-old Serbia international currently plays for New England Revolution in MLS, but has been subject to some transfer drama this summer, apparently wanting to move to Europe but also wanting to do so as a starter. So that could be a problem.

If all fails 20-year-old Lucas Bergström would likely continue to deputize as the primary backup (unless he leaves on loan), with Marcus Bettinelli still injured (unclear when he might be back) and Gaga Slonina of course loaned out already.