Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Chicago Fire goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina for an undisclosed fee.
The Blues found themselves in competition with the likes of Real Madrid and Wolverhampton Wanderers for the teenager's signature at the start of the year.
Such was the level of Real's interest that representative Jaime Garcia suggested at one stage that Slonina was likely to make the switch to the Santiago Bernabeu.
However, the 18-year-old has instead opted to sign a six-year contract with Chelsea, the young stopper seemingly identified as the eventual successor to Edouard Mendy.
Slonina will spend the rest of 2022 on loan at his current club as he looks to continue the progress that he has made since the start of the year.
Welcome to Chels, @GabrielSlonina! 😎 pic.twitter.com/95F9qsCfhX
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 2, 2022
Chicago Fire have recently undergone somewhat of a resurgence to move into eighth position in the Eastern Conference standings.
Slonina has been a big part of their team this season, conceding just 28 goals during his 23 appearances in the MLS.
In total, Slonina has kept 13 clean sheets in that division, his progress having previously earned him a call-up to the United States national team.
Slonina is due to start life at Stamford Bridge in January 2023, although it is unclear whether he will immediately challenge for a place in the first-team squad.
© Reuters
Chelsea are allegedly in the process of securing a loan exit for second-choice goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who may link up with Napoli later this month.
Should that prove to be the case, head coach Thomas Tuchel will enter the market for another backup to compete with Marcus Bettinelli.
Confirmation of Slonina's signing came just hours after Chelsea took the transfer market by surprise by announcing that they had a deal in place to sign Aston Villa prospect Carney Chukwuemeka.
The 18-year-old is now due in London to finalise personal terms and undergo a medical, the deal expected to represent Chelsea's fourth signing of the summer.
Darren Plant
