Why Chelsea would be better off staying away from Juan Musso
According to Mundo Udinese (h/t Football.london), Chelsea are said to be holding an interest in Juan Musso of Udinese. The Blues’ interest in the shot-stopper goes a long way back until March this year. While they did end up signing Edouard Mendy in the summer, the report states that the club still have eyes on Musso.
Profile
Juan Musso, 24, joined Udinese in 2018 from Racing Club and has since established himself as a key player for the mid-table Serie A outfit. He played 34 games for Racing Club keeping 8 clean sheets in the process.
After joining Udinese, he has made 74 appearances between the sticks so far, keeping 23 clean sheets and conceding 98 goals. The Argentine made his debut for the national side last year against Morocco in an international friendly. That remains his only game for Argentina to date.
Chelsea don’t need Musso
It wasn’t long ago that Chelsea were in a huge pickle over their goalkeeping scenario. Kepa Arrizabalaga was signed in 2018 for a record £71.5million but failed to deliver on his gargantuan fee over the last two seasons. His errors were costing the team crucial points and the club felt the need to do something about it.
In came Edouard Mendy. A modest shot-stopper signed from Rennes, he has completely changed Chelsea’s fortunes. He has played 13 games for the side conceding a measly 4 goals and keeping 9 clean sheets. It finally looks Chelsea have found a decent gloveman since the days of Thibaut Courtois and Petr Cech.
With the goalkeeper position sorted, for the time being, there seems little sense in bringing another player for the same position. Especially when you consider Musso is an up and coming talent who will likely be second-choice at Chelsea. Mendy is just 28, which makes him a strong contender to keep his place for a good 5-6 seasons or more. Plus, there is also Kepa, who still remains at the club.
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Investing money on Musso only to play him as second-choice seems a rather puzzling decision. They could be making better use of those funds such as funnelling it towards a long-term target like Declan Rice. Not that Musso is a bad keeper by any stretch, it’s just that the club really don’t need another goalkeeper in the short or medium term.