Chelsea ‘confident’ of signing PL star as they make ‘official bid’; Blues offered striker in Lukaku swap | OneFootball

Robert Sanchez has joined Chelsea

Chelsea are “confident” of signing Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez after making an “official bid” on Monday, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

The Blues allowed Edouard Mendy to join Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli earlier in the transfer window for £16m with Kepa Arrizabalaga currently their main senior goalkeeper.

And that has seen Chelsea look to bring in strong competition for the Spaniard by attempting to sign his compatriot Sanchez from Brighton.

Reports yesterday insisted that Sanchez has ‘already accepted’ the opportunity to move to Stamford Bridge and that it is now just up to the two sides to negotiate a transfer fee.

And Romano has revealed that Chelsea have now made an official bid with the relationship between the Blues and the Seagulls said to be “very good” despite a number of rejected bids for Moises Caicedo.

Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column: “Chelsea sent an official bid yesterday to Brighton for goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. Chelsea always had him on their list, they always considered him as a cheap and smart option, even when they also considered Andre Onana. Now Chelsea have decided to make a bid, but they’re currently keeping the amount quiet.

“Still, it’s concrete because the player wants the move, so negotiations are ongoing and there are positive feelings. Chelsea are confident on the Sanchez deal.

“Mauricio Pochettino is happy with Kepa but having a second, important goalkeeper is needed to create competition. After the departure of Edouard Mendy, it seems normal to try for a new signing to improve the depth in that position.

“The Chelsea coaching staff are very happy with young ‘keeper Gabriel Slonina, but he seems likely to be loaned out. He’s a very talented, hard-working boy, but he’s still only 19 and so experience will be important for him.

“From what I understand there is a very advanced negotiation with Belgian club Eupen for him to go there on loan for one season – they are the favourites, but let’s see if other clubs enter the race.

“The Sanchez talks also show that the relationship between Brighton and Chelsea is very good, despite Brighton turning down bids for Moises Caicedo – this is part of football, the clubs still have a good relationship, and Chelsea are still working on Caicedo, the deal is absolutely on.”

A permanent switch to Inter Milan had seemed on the cards for Romelu Lukaku earlier this summer but they pulled out of talks when they realised the Belgium international was also discussing a deal with Serie A rivals Juventus.

And now Juventus are hoping to include Dusan Vlahovic as part of a deal to sign Lukaku this summer despite having already turned a similar proposal down in early July.

Romano added: “Staying with Chelsea, I can’t mention the club yet, but there is a proposal for a loan deal for Andrey Santos from a Premier League team. Trevoh Chalobah is another one to watch but a deal with Inter is not currently easy as Chelsea want big money for Trevoh, while Inter can only proceed with a loan.

“Finally, Juventus are pushing again for Chelsea to accept Dusan Vlahovic as part of the negotiation to make the Romelu Lukaku deal happen. It’s up to Chelsea, they have to decide internally, but they rejected this idea in the first week of July – not Vlahovic himself, but the swap deal. Still, Vlahovic was not part of Chelsea’s plans one month ago, that’s for sure; and they didn’t even negotiate with his agents or Juventus for that reason.”