Chelsea can make Enzo Maresca’s life so much easier by signing ‘exceptional’ player with relegation release clause

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Chelsea were able to bounce back from defeats to Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion on Tuesday after beating Southampton 4-0.

Enzo Maresca, though, still has a couple of issues. Christopher Nkunku managed to score against the Saints, while Filip Jorgensen made up for his error at Villa Park with a clean sheet, but the striker and goalkeeper positions remain a problem.

Chelsea continue to monitor Liam Delap, so the Ipswich Town star could solve the first issue.

As for the second, a really good opportunity could be about to present itself to Maresca and Chelsea.

• READ MORE: Enzo Maresca explains why he threatened to take Filip Jorgensen off in Chelsea’s win vs Southampton… ‘I will change you’

Aaron Ramsdale has relegation release clause in contract

Bottom of the table with just nine points after 27 games, Southampton are almost certain to get relegated this season. Should that happen, then their goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale will be available.

According to talkSPORT, Ramsdale, whom Chelsea have “long-standing interest” in, has a relegation release clause in his contract.

Chelsea were linked with Ramsdale going into the last summer transfer window, but nothing happened and the 26-year-old ended up at Southampton instead.

With the Saints set to return to the Championship, though, the Blues could get another opportunity to sign Ramsdale.

This time, the club should take it, especially if Jorgensen and Robert Sanchez continue to make mistakes between now and the end of the campaign.

Aaron Ramsdale could be the answer to Chelsea’s goalkeeper problem

Chelsea’s goalkeeper situation has become a bit of a nightmare for Maresca. Jorgensen and Sanchez have cost him and the rest of the team points and are constantly brought up in press conferences.

Ramsdale is not the best No.1 in the world; otherwise, Arsenal would not have sold the Englishman and replaced him with David Raya.

But he was Arsenal’s goalkeeper at one point, playing at a high level, and does not make as many costly errors as someone like Sanchez, for example.

In the 19 Premier League games that Ramsdale has played this term, he is yet to make a mistake leading to goal. Sanchez, on the other hand, has made five.

In his first season at the Gunners, he also did not make any, while only two occurred the following campaign.

Ramsdale eventually lost his place in the Arsenal team, but he remained professional about it. “He’s been exceptional around the place with the situation,” Mikel Arteta said (via TNT Sports) in 2023.

When you look at the goalkeeper market, there are not any world-class No.1s around. But Ramsdale is not a terrible one and could help make things go smoother for Maresca at Stamford Bridge.