Chelsea were close to reaching personal agreements with Chicago Fire goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina before the deal collapsed, and the teenager is now on the verge of joining Real Madrid, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The 18-year-old American reportedly generated a lot of interest from various top European clubs, including Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid.
Catching the attention of these type of clubs clearly suggests that Slonina is a special talent.
The goalkeeper conceded just 20 goals from 13 games and kept five clean-sheets in MLS at such a young age.
According to Romano, Chelsea were the first to make their move and were one step away from reaching an agreement on personal terms before the sanctioning of previous club owner Roman Abramovich ended the negotiations.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, reportedly made theirs in recent days with an initial offer.
The Italian transfer expert claims that while Chicago Fire turned down the offer, Real Madrid are still keen on securing the deal for the goalkeeper.
Chelsea and Bayern reportedly remain interested, but Slonina’s agent Jaime Garcia’s recent comments clearly indicated that the player has decided on moving to Santiago Bernabeu.
“It should be an honour for Chicago, and MLS to have Real Madrid take notice of one of their players,” the agent told CBS Sports.
“We are hoping Chicago can find an agreement with Real Madrid to realize Gabriel’s dream of playing for this club.
“With respect to other clubs and other offers we’ve received many, and at the moment we are gracious to those clubs but you cannot say no to Real Madrid.”
Chelsea tend to wrap up deals for these young players quickly, so it is really unfortunate that the ownership situation prevented the club from offering contracts or registering new players.
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