Chelsea completed their sixth signing of the summer transfer window on Friday evening, finally securing the services of Bayer Leverkusen attacking-midfielder Kai Havertz for a club-record fee.
The 21-year-old follows Hakim Ziyech, international teammate Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell, Malang Sarr and Thiago Silva in sealing moves to Stamford Bridge this summer.
Havertz’s arrival at Stamford Bridge will significantly bolster head coach Frank Lampard’s attacking options, with the Germany ace capable of playing as an advanced-midfielder or a striker, should he be required.
Now that Chelsea have finally secured Havertz’s signature, Lampard’s attention will switch to bolstering other areas of his squad, as he almost nears the competition of his summer transformation.
However, Over the last few months, Chelsea have been heavily linked with an array of goalkeepers, both domestically and abroad, with Chelsea247 understanding that Lampard is very keen to strengthen the position. The likes of Manchester United shot-stopper Dean Henderson, Jan Oblak of Atletico Madrid, Andre Onana of Ajax, Lille’s Mike Maignan and Edouard Mendy of Rennes have all been linked with moves to Stamford Bridge.
But it now appears as though Mendy could be a front-runner to become Chelsea’s new goalkeeper, with the Blues having opened talks with Rennes about the possibility of signing the Senegal international.
Should Chelsea be able to get a deal over the line for Mendy, or indeed an alternative goalkeeper, that would be another piece added to Lampard’s jigsaw, meaning it would almost be complete. Rice has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge over the last few months and with the way that Chelsea have been splashing the cash this summer it should not be ruled out.
Of course, Lampard may still be open to strengthening other areas of the team should anybody within his squad pick up an injury before next month’s deadline, but adding a goalkeeper and potentially a new central-midfielder are at the very top of his wish list.