Chelsea are targetting a move for Bayern Munich keeper Manuel Neuer as a replacement to Kepa Arrizabalaga – as per reports.
Kepa has been really inconsistent for Chelsea this season, so much so that Lampard has not even shied away from dropping to the Spaniard to the bench and using Willy Caballero in his place.
There are multiple rumours which claim that Chelsea are looking to part ways with Kepa in the summer and it seems like they could try and sign Manuel Neuer in his place.
Manuel Neuer has been a mainstay at Bayern Munich ever since he joined the club in 2011 from Schalke.
But the keeper has only one more year left on his current deal at the Allianz Arena and wants a new long-term deal at the club which right now Bayern are not ready to offer.
As per reports, Bayern are a bit sceptical about providing a new long-term deal to Manuel Neuer since the German is already 34 years old and as a result of this, he could be on his way out in the summer.
One of the most decorated goalkeepers in the history of the game 🏆@Manuel_Neuer turns 34 today 👏 pic.twitter.com/9lbPFADDii
— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 27, 2020
And if there’s a hint that Neuer could be on his way out of Bayern Munich at the end of the season then surely Chelsea will try and sign him since they are desperately looking for a replacement for Kepa.
But the biggest problem in signing the Bayern No 1 is that first, they will have to offload their current shot-stopper for a handsome price before they can try and make a move for Manuel Neuer.
If not then Chelsea will have to pay for their next keeper out of their own pockets which will surely be a setback for Frank Lampard since the manager also wants to sign a handful of other players.
Also, it remains to be seen as to what the contract situation between the Bavarians and Manuel Neuer boils down into since the keeper would love to finish his career in Germany.
UPDATE(30th March 2020):
Looks like Chelsea have received a massive boost in signing Manuel Neuer this summer since as per reports, the keeper has turned down a new deal at Bayern Munich.
As per the report, Bayern Munich have offered Neuer a new deal which runs till the summer of 2023 but it seems like the player is truly not interested in a short-term deal.
The German keeper wants a deal till 2025 but the Bavarians are not likely to agree to his terms since the club are already in the process of Alexander Nubel from Schalke at the end of this season.
So in such a scenario, Manuel Neuer is likely to leave in the summer since the last thing that the German will do is play second fiddle to a 23-year-old. And this might be the perfect opportunity for Chelsea to sign the veteran keeper as the replacement to Kepa Arrizabalaga for the upcoming season.
But the biggest problem for the Blues is that Neuer is 34 years old and Chelsea do not offer long-term deals to players who are above 30. So it will be interesting to see how Frank Lampard deals with this situation.
UPDATED(1st April 2020):
It looks like Chelsea not be able to get their hands on Manuel Neuer in the summer since the latest updates claim that the shot-keeper is not even considering a move to Chelsea.
Yes, he has turned down a new deal from Bayern Munich but is also confident that the club will come up with a better offer – one which he can accept.
But even if things do not work out, it seems like Manuel Neuer has no plans of heading to Stamford Bridge at the end of the season.
