According to A Bola (Via SportWitness), Chelsea are studying a formula to sign Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa this summer.
The London giants are currently on the verge of offloading Edouard Mendy to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli, and A Bola claim that the club want to raise the fight for the goalkeeping position with a new signing.
Costa is one of the players on their transfer radar, and as per the Portuguese outlet, Chelsea don’t plan to trigger his £64 million release clause outright. Instead, the club want to pay the fee in 3 instalments.
A Bola report that Chelsea are ready to pay one part of the fee upfront with the remaining two in the forthcoming years. This would be a smooth operation for the club, but Porto prefer to receive the sum at once.
Strong competition
Kepa Arrizabalaga was the mainstay in Chelsea’s goal during the second half of last season. The Spaniard completed 81% of his passes in the top-flight, as per Sofascore, but he was playing it safe with 4 long balls per game.
While his distribution was more than decent, the 28-year-old let down the team with his shot-stopping. He was good with his reflexes from close-range shots, but conceded 6 goals from shots outside of the box.
This has been a particular drawback for him. In Costa, Chelsea would be getting a player, who is more assured in such situations. The 23-year-old allowed just 2 goals from shots attempted outside of the box last season.
Costa completed 77% of his overall passes in the Portuguese top tier, and he was willing to take more risks with 7 long balls per match. He would be a serious competitor to Arrizabalaga for no.1 role at Chelsea.
Chelsea are unlikely to pay his release clause in one go, and the question remains whether Porto can be persuaded to accept a long-term payment deal. If successful, Costa would be a terrific piece of investment.
