Chelsea have set their sights on signing Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel this summer, but he isn't the only option being looked at by Mauricio Pochettino in the Premier League, according to reports.
When did Gregor Kobel join Borussia Dortmund?
Kobel first arrived at the Signal Iduna Park from Stuttgart back in 2021 and has since gone on to establish himself as Edin Terzic’s official number one, clocking up a total of 75 appearances between the sticks to date, but there’s a chance he could be on the move having previously been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge.
Back in April, Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg revealed that whilst the Blues had identified the 25-year-old as an ideal successor for Edouard Mendy following his move to Al-Ahli, a switch was unlikely to take place. He said:
“News #Kobel: Chelsea is monitoring the goalkeeper market & Kobel is one of the names they have discussed internally. They are also in good contact with his agents. But not more at this stage. It’s not hot. Kobel is very likely to stay at #BVB in summer and #CFC has other candidates on their list.”
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The Switzerland international still has another three years remaining on his contract over in Germany, but with Kepa Arrizabalaga having been made a top target by Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern Munich, Todd Boehly is looking to take a second bite of the cherry with the shot-stopper that he previously decided not to pursue.
Are Chelsea signing Gregor Kobel?
According to The Evening Standard, Chelsea are "looking at" Kobel, alongside Valencia's Giorgi Mamardashvili, as the two goalkeepers on their "shortlist" for the summer transfer window.
Kepa is believed to be "open to joining" Bayern, who are "preparing" a loan offer with an option to buy, and the club are "unlikely to stand in his way" meaning that a replacement will be needed should he depart.
How many clean sheets has Gregor Kobel kept?
In the Bundesliga last season, Kobel kept 11 clean sheets from 27 games which is an extremely impressive return, and having been hailed a “top class” goalkeeper by journalist Josh Bunting, Pochettino would be handed a huge boost should he decide to leave Borussia Dortmund and join Chelsea to work under the Argentine.
The Zurich native, who earns £33k-per-week, also made a total of 88 saves from 119 shots on target against, giving him a success rate of 73.9%, via FBRef, which is slightly higher than Kepa’s 73.3%, showing that he’d be an upgrade on the boss’ current first choice.
Standing at 6 foot 4, Tuchel's colossus additionally has a superb range of passing having completed 100% of his short attempts and 99.1% of his medium dispatches during the previous campaign, so for a player with such an eye for picking balls to his outfield teammates, this should be a no-brainer of a deal for chiefs to wrap up if the opportunity presents itself in the final weeks of the window.