Chelsea are reportedly on the brink of confirming the transfer of Spanish goalkeeper Diego Lopez from Serie A club AC Milan.
Diego Lopez joined AC Milan from La Liga heavyweights Real Madrid in the summer transfer window of 2014. The Spaniard made his league debut in the season opener for Milan and was their hero saving a penalty en-route to a 3-1 win over Lazio. The goalkeeper had started almost all of the matches while being fit and available for selection but suffered greatly in his debut season. Lopez averaged 1.5 goals conceded per match, letting in 42 goals in 28 Serie A appearances and keeping only 5 clean sheets (stats via transfermarkt).
The 2015-16 season was not much better for the 34-year-old as he was restricted to just 8 appearances following the emergence of wonder-kid Gianluigi Donnarumma at the San Siro. The Italian teenager has been a revelation for AC Milan and has often been hailed as the next “Gianluigi Buffon”. Donnarumma started 30 matches for Milan, keeping 10 clean sheets. The Spaniard, on the other hand, was erratic whenever called upon to start for the Rossoneri, giving away 14 goals in just 8 matches and failing to keep a single clean sheet.
There have been rumours circulating around the San Siro regarding Diego Lopez’s future at the club and calciomercato have reported that the new Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is looking to add the 34-year-old to the squad as a backup to Thibaut Courtois. The report states that Asmir Begovic is unhappy acting as a cover for the Belgian number 1 and is most likely on his way out in the near future.
Gazzetta World have added to the speculation claiming that a deal is in place between the two clubs and the move could be announced as soon as Begovic’s departure is confirmed. The report states that the Spaniard would be the ideal candidate for the backup role at Stamford Bridge. The 34-year-old was already acting as a backup to Donnarumma and would not be too unhappy at playing the same role at Chelsea.
The shot-stopper has spent two years in Italy and his knowledge of basic Italian would be of great help to Antonio Conte in the training sessions. Diego Lopez would probably love playing in the Premier League and could prefer a move to Chelsea over another year at AC Milan. A deal looks likely between the two clubs in this case with AC Milan having an abundance of goalkeepers to fill the former Real Madrid player’s slot.
