Chelsea are reported to have turned down a sizeable offer from Premier League rivals Arsenal for highly rated 16-year-old goalkeeper Freddy Bernal.
An England youth international, Bernal turned 16 in October and has made the step up to the U18 Premier League this season.
He is considered to have a promising future, sparking interest from Arsenal among other clubs. However, Fabrizio Romano noted that Arsenal’s bid of £1.25 million was turned down by Chelsea.
The stance from Stamford Bridge is that they want to keep him, although clubs remain interested.
Even though Bernal might take time to become first-team ready—unlike Gianluigi Donnarumma, who began starting for AC Milan at the same age—Chelsea’s situation with their main goalkeepers remains crowded and uncertain.
Chelsea has a wealth of goalkeeping talent with Kepa Arrizabalaga and Djordje Petrovic returning successfully from loan spells at Bournemouth and Strasbourg. Meanwhile, Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen hold the top spots, and Marcus Bettinelli waits in the wings as the third choice.
Even with Lucas Bergstrom set to leave when his contract expires, Mike Penders will join from Genk on 1 July, and there are also now rumours of serious interest in Borussia Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel.
The Swiss stopper, who played for Dortmund in last season’s Champions League final, is reported to be valued by the Bundesliga side at £51m. That figure would make him the third most expensive goalkeeper in football history, behind only Alisson (£67m) and Kepa (£72m). The latest reporting from Germany suggests Kobel is ready for the “next step” of his career.
Arsenal are much more comfortable with their first-team goalkeeper picture, in terms of having an ideal starter, after dispensing with Aaron Ramsdale in favour of David Raya. But the depth in goal needs attention, with Neto’s loan from Bournemouth set to end imminently. Espanyol’s Joan Garcia is the preferred replacement.
