- 12 hours ago
The player Chelsea MUST sign after Champions League final
James Shearman
- 11 Jun 2023 14:15 BST
- 3 min read
Saturday's Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan showed Chelsea the goalkeeper they need to target in the transfer window.
Inter may have lost the game, 1-0, but Andre Onana played exceptionally well in between the sticks. He could do nothing about Rodri's fine strike.
In particular, the 27-year-old's distribution was phenomenal, effectively acting as an 11th outfield player.
"It's difficult with that keeper to high press properly because you cannot press him," City boss Pep Guardiola said prior to the game, and he was proven exactly right.
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Chelsea have previously been linked with the likes of Brighton's Robert Sanchez and Brentford's David Raya, who are comfortable on the ball.
But Onana, a graduate of Barcelona's La Masia, takes the term 'sweeper keeper' to another level.
The Blues should do everything they can to make sure he is the first name on the team sheet for Mauricio Pochettino's debut in August.
Chelsea's Lukaku disaster
Onana's teammate, Romelu Lukaku, had a disastrous evening in front of goal, much to the disappointment of Chelsea.
The 30-year-old is on loan from the Blues, who either want to sell him to Inter, or get him to produce at Stamford Bridge next season.
Inter president Zhang on Romelu Lukaku and Chelsea: “Romelu loves Inter, that’s very clear. He’s great guy but he’s under contract at Chelsea”. 🔵🇧🇪 #CFC
“We have to wait and speak to Chelsea to make Lukaku’s future clear”. pic.twitter.com/L6pZ4G7kEk— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 10, 2023
Indeed, reports had suggested that Mauricio Pochettino was willing to pin his hopes on Lukaku to rejuvenate Chelsea's ailing front line.
If these are accurate, the Argentine may be having second thoughts after what unfolded at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul.
First of all, it was telling that Inter boss Simone Inzaghi elected to leave the Belgium international on the bench, with veteran striker Edin Dzeko preferred until the substitution was made in the second-half.
But matters worsened for Lukaku as his cameo was arguably best summed up by the forward inadvertently blocking a goal-bound header from teammate Federico Dimarco.
It is fair to say that Lukaku did himself, and Chelsea, no favours with his poor Champions League final showing.
