£70m player doesn’t want to leave his current club despite links with Chelsea

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Chelsea and Manchester United may have some persuading to do if they want to sign AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

Mike Maignan is currently being linked with a move to Chelsea, with TEAMtalk claiming that AC Milan could be ready to sell him for £70m. Elsewhere, a report from Foot Mercato has stated that, as well as the Blues, Manchester United are also interested in the Frenchman.

However, according to Fabrizio Romano, writing in his Substack column, Maignan is “very happy” at the San Siro.

It means both clubs may have to look elsewhere if they want to strengthen between the sticks.

Chelsea only signed Robert Sanchez from Brighton & Hove Albion during the summer, while Andre Onana joined United in the same transfer window. That, however, has not stopped the two Premier League giants from being linked with Maignan.

Mike Maignan very happy at AC Milan

Milan are one of the biggest clubs in the world and were Serie A champions only a year ago.

You could not blame Maignan, then, for wanting to stay in Italy. It would be a blow for Chelsea and United, but they have just signed Sanchez and Onana respectively. They have got to give these shot-stoppers proper chances.

Chelsea especially have given up on players too early. Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne come to mind instantly, for example.

The above is not to say that Sanchez is going to go on to become a world-class player like those two. But they are certainly a lesson for the club, who have hopefully learned by now that they should not be too quick to discard members of their squad.

If Sanchez gets this whole season and really struggles and Maignan is available, it changes things a bit. But the main point is that Chelsea should not rush into making any decisions just yet.