Maresca desperate to sign another Leicester star for Chelsea as summer signing No 6 nears two sales greenlit.
Chelsea are thundering towards their sixth summer signing with a move for Filip Jorgensen close to being completed – but it has emerged that the Villarreal goalkeeper was not their first choice with boss Enzo Maresca desperate to sign a Leicester star instead, while Everton are ready to try again to persuade an unwanted Blues star to leave.
The 22-year-old stopper will undergo a medical with Chelsea in the United States on Monday, and if all goes as expected, Jorgensen will become the sixth arrival of the summer under new boss Maresca, adding to the additions so far of Tosin Adarabioyo, Omari Kellyman, Estevao Willian, Marc Guiu and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
The Blues will pay Villarreal a fee of €24.5m (£20.7m) to sign the Denmark U21 international, who is expected to sign a lengthy contract with the south-west London side.
Jorgensen is expected to go straight into the Chelsea starting line-up next season, battling with Robert Sanchez for the No 1 spot and with Djordje Petrovic now expected to be sold amid claims that the Italian has doubts over the Serbian’s abilities and despite the 24-year-old making 34 appearances in all competitions last season.
Chelsea are also hoping to secure the signing of Boca Juniors defender Aaron Anselmino and Maresca has spoken of the impending double deal.
“No. The only thing I can say is they are still Boca Juniors and Villarreal players,” he said from the United States.
“The moment they arrive, we will make some comment but at this moment, they are still not our player, so we will see. I know both of them. And both of them are very good.”
Chelsea transfers: Jorgensen was not Maresca’s first choice
However, it has since emerged that Jorgensen was not actually Maresca’s first choice with reports in Norway actually stating that the Blues boss explored a move for Leicester keeper Mads Hermansen as a first option.
The 24-year-old is well known to Maresca, having coached him in their title-winning Championship campaign at the King Power Stadium last season.
Renowned for his ball-playing skills, Maresca felt the Dane would have been perfect for the style he wants to impose at Stamford Bridge, with Danish outlet Bold claiming Chelsea went as far as contacting the Foxes to name their price for the player.
Having already snared Dewsbury-Hall this summer, though, Leicester were not prepared to allow a second star to reunite with their former manager easily and stunned the Blues with a £40m demand.
That price was deemed way too high by Chelsea, who instead opted to follow through on their initial interest in Jorgensen to sign the Villarreal stopper for a fee of around half the price quoted for Hermansen.
As the goalkeeper with the best saves tally in LaLiga last season, Chelsea are confident they have signed an elite goalkeeper destined to get even better during his time in England.
As a result of his impending arrival, the Blues have made it clear they are willing to move on Petrovic and they will hope to claim a fee of around £15m for his services, though a loan exit could also be considered.
Double Chelsea sale on cards as Everton target striker
With Petrovic likely to move on, and with Trevoh Chalobah told he has no future at the club, the Blues are also pushing to move on another unwanted star in striker Armando Broja this summer.
The Albania striker has been cleared to leave and has been the subject of interest in his services from Everton.
The Toffees have been linked with his signing all summer and are now ready to launch a concrete approach for his services.
Broja has been keen on a move to AC Milan this summer but the Rossoneri are yet to make their move.
