Chelsea have reportedly earmarked Inter Milan's Andre Onana as a potential new number one for the 2023-24 season.
Graham Potter currently has Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy battling for the gloves, although the latter has been absent since January due to a fractured finger.
Mendy's surgery has allowed Kepa to try to reignite his career at Stamford Bridge, but the Spaniard has not been able to impress on a consistent basis in between the sticks.
While Kepa's future remains unclear, Chelsea are supposedly willing to let Mendy leave in the upcoming transfer market after the Senegal international rejected an offer of a new deal.
With 18-year-old Gabriel Slonina still far from the finished product and potentially being sent out on loan again, a new shot-stopper could be high on Chelsea's agenda during a busy summer window.
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According to InterLive.it - via Fichajes - the Blues have identified Onana as an ideal acquisition amid doubts over his future with Inter Milan.
The former Cameroon international - who retired from playing for his country in the wake of a World Cup bust-up with Rigobert Song - left Ajax on a free transfer in the summer to join the Nerazzurri, and he quickly displaced Samir Handanovic as number one.
Onana has kept 14 clean sheets in 28 matches for Simone Inzaghi's side across all tournaments, starting 17 Serie A games and all eight of their Champions League affairs so far.
The Onana-marshalled Inter defence came through both legs of their last-16 tie with Porto without conceding a goal, prevailing 1-0 on aggregate to set up a quarter-final with Benfica.
The 26-year-old is under contract at San Siro until the end of the 2026-27 campaign, but Chelsea could supposedly attempt to strike a player-plus-cash deal with Inter, who would receive Mendy and a sum of money in exchange.
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It is unclear whether Inter would be open to such an exchange, but the Nerazzurri can be expected to put up a fight in negotiations given Onana's importance to the squad.
Prior to joining the Nerazzurri, Onana represented Barcelona at youth level and spent seven trophy-laden years with Ajax, although he memorably served a nine-month doping ban between February and November 2021.
Meanwhile, Chelsea shot-stopper Kepa remains the most expensive goalkeeper in the world at a price of £69.9m, but his value has dropped significantly during his underwhelming period at Stamford Bridge.
The Spaniard is out of contract in the summer of 2025, while Mendy - who cost €24m (£21m) to poach from Rennes in 2020 - is also due to become a free agent in just over two years' time.
Diogo Costa, Jordan Pickford and David Raya have also been mentioned as possible new number ones for Chelsea, who sit 10th in the Premier League table and face Aston Villa on April 1 in their first game back since the international break.
Ben Knapton
