“Took me by surprise” – Matt Law shares inside information on big Chelsea transfer saga | OneFootball

Chelsea weren’t expected to make a move for AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan until late August according to Matt Law.

The Blues are once again set to be busy this summer and have already completed the signing of Liam Delap from Ipswich for £30m.

Chelsea face a critical window and are also looking to bring in a versatile forward, left winger and centre back to strengthen Enzo Maresca’s squad.

Chelsea were expected to move for Maignan in late August

The Blues are currently in America preparing for the Club World Cup, with their first game against Los Angeles FC taking place on Monday night.

Delap is joined by Andrey Santos, Mamadou Sarr and Dario Essugo as the new faces in the squad, but one name who won’t be there is Maignan.

Chelsea made an approach to Milan for Maignan and wanted to get a deal done in time for the Club World Cup but were unable to.

Chelsea could revisit a deal for Maignan later this summer. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Milan valued the 29-year-old at £20-£25m, but Chelsea only valued Maignan at £12.6m and weren’t prepared to pay more.

It’s been reported the Blues could try and sign Maignan on a free transfer in 2026 and Law has now provided some insight on the situation.

“What took me by surprise is when I got a little tickle towards the end of last season that they were interested in his situation, it was told to me then it was one to probably watch for late August, for if he hadn’t signed a contract and hadn’t gone anywhere and there was a potential of quite a favourable deal,” he told The London Is Blue Podcast.

“And the thing that surprised me obviously is it went the other way. They went for him earlier or made the check on him earlier rather than later and looked at doing it in time for the Club World Cup.

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“So that’s the part of that that took me by surprise, not the interest. Look, they put a valuation on him, about 15 million pounds and wouldn’t deviate from it.

“Now I wrote when it came out that they had made a check on him because I’m not convinced that even got to the stage of them actually making a proper formal bid for him this time around.”

Djordje Petrovic set to leave

Whilst Maignan could still arrive one keeper who is set to leave is Djordje Petrovic despite an impressive season on loan at Strasbourg.

The Serb was expected to challenge for the number one shirt but was left out of the squad for the Club World Cup.

Petrovic has got a number of suitors across Europe and Chelsea are set to make a profit on the £14m they paid in 2023.