Chelsea Should Consider Bold Move for French Goalkeeper
Chelsea may soon need to sign a new goalkeeper. Current first-choice Thibaut Courtois is being strongly linked with a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid who are looking to sign a new shot-stopper to replace Keylor Navas between the sticks.
And no, in case you were wondering, the French goalkeeper the Blues should look to sign as a replacement is not Tottenham keeper and French captain, Hugo Lloris.
Courtois’s current contract at Stamford Bridge is set to expire at the end of next season and he has yet to sign a new deal with the club, which obviously means that he is at least considering a move to the Spanish capital. It is also easy to see Courtois being tempted to move to Julen Loptegui’s club. His children continue to reside in Madrid and Los Blancos have also been more consistent in their form during recent years. Madrid have won the past three consecutive Champions League titles, while Chelsea have failed to qualify for Europe’s Premier club competition twice in the past three seasons.
One of the keepers whom Chelsea should consider buying in the event that Courtois departs is Marseille shot-stopper Steve Mandanda. Mandanda was part of the French squad which won the World Cup recently. He served as back-up to Lloris and made one appearance during the 0-0 Group stage draw against Denmark.
Mandanda is arguably one of the most unlucky goalkeepers of the past decade. He is a five-time French Ligue 1 goalkeeper of the year and would easily be a first choice for most top nations. However, due to Les Bleus having Lloris, who is also one of the best keepers in world football, he has had to serve as second-choice for his country for the past decade, earning 28 caps for France since making his international debut in 2008.
With 567 professional appearances to his name, Mandanda is highly experienced at the highest level. He did have a previous stint in England with Crystal Palace from 2016-17 and while he did not make much of an impact, injury did halt his progress during that season. Mandanda has good reflexes and at 33 years old, he will not be expensive. He could be a good replacement for Courtois.
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