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Chelsea's move for AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan is set to collapse, talk SPORT understands. The Blues had set their sights on snapping up the France international in the 10-day June summer transfer window, which closes tonight, ahead of their Club World Cup campaign. talk SPORT previously reported that the west Londoners had made an approach to sign the shot stopper, who has just one year left on his current contract with the Serie A giants. However, a move for the 29-year-old now appears to be off, with Chelsea no longer optimistic a deal can be completed today. With Milan demanding around £25million to secure Maignan's services, the Blues are prepared to walk away from talks altogether, who have no shortage of goalkeeping options as it is. The Blues have planned to simply rank their current options of Robert Sanchez, Filip Jorgensen, Djordje Petrovic and the highly-rated Mike Penders during the Club World Cup. And if Maignan's move to Stamford Bridge is not completed today, the club will not continue their pursuit of him when the transfer window reopens on June 16. According to talk SPORT's chief football correspondent Alex Crook, Chelsea have already informed Milan of this. He discussed the increasingly unlikely transfer on talk SPORT's White and Jordan, where he revealed there is a huge gap in the two club's valuation of Maignan. Crook said: “It doesn’t look like this is going to happen now, between now and the 7pm deadline. “Chelsea have told Milan that if they don’t get a deal done today, they will walk away, this is a deal specifically in mind to get him signed in time for the Club World Cup. “I think Milan feel this is a bit of brinkmanship and that when the window reopens next Monday, Chelsea may well be back at the table. “Chelsea are willing to pay £15m and Milan value him at £25m, so obviously a big gap in valuation. “So as we sit here now, Chelsea are not optimistic that deal will get done. " And while it may be now or never for Maignan, Crook revealed it is a different story for another Blues target, with the club prepared to resume talks with Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens later on in the transfer window. He continued: “It’s a slightly different scenario with Chelsea and Jamie Gittens at Dortmund - again, there’s a gap in valuation between the two clubs but, unlike with Maignan, they have suggested to Dortmund they’re willing to continue negotiating throughout the summer to try and get that deal done. ” Maignan joined AC Milan from Lille in 2021, where he has since gone on to establish himself as one of the best in the world in his position. He helped the Rossoneri to Serie A glory in 2022, where he was named in the league's team of the year, also picking up the best goalkeeper award for the season. The stopper's impressive club form has seen him rewarded at international level, who has taken the reigns as France's no. 1 between the sticks following Hugo Lloris' retirement in January 2023. Given Chelsea's wealth of goalkeeping options, they may not be too keen to spend beyond their valuation of Maignan. If a deal did emerge, the keeper would join as a number one option, calling into question the future of Sanchez, while Petrovic is also expected to challenge after a strong season on loan at sister club Strasbourg. Penders is viewed as Premier League ready, but due to his age, the 19-year-old could still be loaned out at first, with Jorgensen also set to remain at the club, having only joined last summer. Crook gave his verdict on Chelsea's goalkeeping situation, as he assessed where Maignan would in among their options. He said: “I think for Chelsea they just saw an opportunity for a good value signing in Maignan, so maybe they’re going to be true to their word and they won’t go above £15m and maybe they will stick with the goalkeepers they’ve got. “Robert Sanchez is very admired by Ben Roberts who is in charge of the overall goalkeeping department there - he had Sanchez at Brighton and was instrumental in his arrival at Stamford Bridge. “You’ve got Filip Jorgensen who came in and did OK at times. “But I still think that position it’s a big problem for Chelsea. I don’t think they’ve got a top class one. “None of the goalkeepers they have are quite the finished article, and if you’re talking about challenging for Premier League titles and being competitive in the Champions League, I think they do need a new one. " “Of course, one goalkeeper is on his way out in Kepa [Arrizabalaga] - he’s joining Arsenal to be back-up there for £5m after his year on loan at Bournemouth last season. ” © 2025 talk SPORT Limited

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