Chelsea find themselves in the enviable position of having two excellent goalkeepers in their first-team squad, a luxury that most teams don’t have.
Both Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy, signed for £71m and £22m respectively, are giving Graham Potter a headache over who should become the Blues’ starting ‘keeper, with the Spaniard seemingly leading the race, having played in every match since the World Cup.
With reports linking Chelsea with a move for David Raya, it’s clear that Potter is earmarking someone else in order to replace Kepa and Mendy as the undisputed starter between the sticks at Stamford Bridge.
There shouldn’t be any real need to delve into the transfer market, though, as the Blues have an excellent talent in their academy who could go on to be a true heir to Kepa in the near future.
Can Gabriel Slonina replace Kepa at Chelsea?
Chelsea managed to lure the highly-rated Slonina to west London last summer in a deal worth £12m, and he was loaned back to Chicago Fire in order to complete the MLS season with them.
During the 2022 MLS campaign, the American played 32 matches, averaging a very respectable Sofascore rating of 6.81/10 as he made 2.6 saves per match (65% success rate), conceded 45 goals and kept 12 clean sheets, clearly showing great maturity at such a young age.
The youngster even made history last month by becoming the youngest-ever goalkeeper to start for the USA in an official match when they faced Serbia. That night, Slonina made four saves and two clearances, took 27 touches and achieved a Sofascore rating of 6.9, the fourth-highest in the Americans’ starting XI.
Writer Gabe Henderson hailed the 18-year-old as a “great young talent”, and having made history for the USA, his next step will be to make a senior competitive appearance for Chelsea.
He has already played one match for the Blues’ U21s, a 2-0 win over Wolves in January, and it’s abundantly clear that Potter has a generational talent ready and waiting to be thrust into action.
Slonina is a rough diamond, but with 43 appearances in the MLS and an international cap to his name already, it might not be long before Potter gives him a senior Chelsea debut.
With the club spending colossal sums on players such as Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk recently, they could save millions in the future by unleashing the American prodigy rather than splurging on another goalkeeper.