Football transfer rumours: Chelsea to offer Kepa plus £25m for Jan Oblak? | Football

Get the right keeper in at the right age and you’ve got the position sorted for a decade, so goes the logic. Chelsea struck gold when they upgraded Carlo Cudicini for Petr Cech in 2004, and the 11 years’ service they got from him took in four Premier League titles, one Champions League win, one in the Europa League, plus four FA Cups and three League Cups. Thibaut Courtois may have toddled off a little early for their liking, after just the four major trophies including two league winners’ medals, but bringing in Kepa Arrizabalaga for well over £70m showed full intent to repeat the trick.

Now, with the worst defensive record in the Premier League’s top nine, Bayern Munich cutting through them like a hot knife through already melted butter, and – crucially – former Manchester City figure of fun Willy Caballero suddenly being preferred to the Spaniard, the Do One door at Stamford Bridge is not so much slightly ajar than off the hinges with an industrial garden vac on the other side. Hence word that Frank Lampard is sanctioning an eyecatching Arrizabalaga-plus-£25m deal to Atlético Madrid to land Jan Oblak.

Good news for Mill correspondents from next week onwards: Manchester United are intent on getting that whole Jack Grealish saga done and dusted this week. That’s £45m to you right now, Aston Villa, and let’s not worry about him potentially putting in a decent turn at the Euros that might make you want to charge more than the market rate for one and a half Alex Iwobis.

That’s not all United have in mind, either. They’re keen to try and attract the Belle and Sebastian dollar by bringing in New York-born Canadian forward Jonathan David – Canada’s player of the year, don’t you know? – who has 22 goals so far this season for Belgian side Gent. The 20-year-old has already attracted a £5m bid from Porto, which was roundly laughed at. And the Old Trafford scouting tentacles also found their way to Real Sociedad’s win over Valencia last weekend, to have a look-see at all of Ferran Torres, Carlos Soler, Willian José, Martin Ødegaard and Alexander Isak. Jesse Lingard and Andreas Pereira could be among those making way for what is sounding like being a LOT of new arrivals this summer.

Probably for the best that Ed Woodward is eyeing deals for most of the players in Europe, because Jadon Sancho has decided he might actually quite like to staying at Borussia Dortmund after all. And lo: the shoulders of United, Chelsea and Liverpool did sag.

“What do you mean you don’t want to commit to a new deal at Arsenal?” Mikel Arteta wondered to Bukayo Saka. “Fine – I’ll buy that lustrously maned Marc Cucurella Getafe have on loan from Barcelona then.” That’ll show him.

Bit more keeper news to report: Huddersfield have their designs on Celtic veteran Craig Gordon, while at the other end of the experience scale, England under-19 international Curtis Anderson, who plied his youth trade at Manchester City, is training at Charlton and could be ready to sign a permanent deal after a spell with Charlotte Independence in the US.