Chelsea are interested in completing the signing of Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel this summer, according to a fresh report.
Is Kobel having a good season?
The 25-year-old has been an important performer for Dortmund throughout this season, helping them sit second in the Bundesliga table with six matches remaining. He has played 21 league games in total, winning one Man of the Match award from WhoScored, and he has also started four Champions League matches.
Kobel is contracted to Dortmund until the summer of 2026, but his performances for his club could have alerted other teams to make a move for him at the end of this season. Chelsea could do with signing a new goalkeeper in the summer transfer window, with both Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy struggling to look like genuinely convincing first-choice 'keepers at Stamford Bridge moving forward.
It looks as though Kobel could potentially be that man to come in and be an upgrade on the pair, according to an intriguing new transfer claim.
Could Chelsea snap up Dortmund man?
According to Bild [via Sport Witness], Chelsea see Kobel as an "above-average" replacement for Kepa and Mendy, having added him to their "wish list" for the summer and put him "high on the scouting list".
Dortmund are desperate to retain the services of their No.1 stopper for the foreseeable future, however, and it also stated that the player himself is happy there, which could put paid to a sumer move to west London coming to fruition.
If Chelsea could manage to entice Kobel to Stamford Bridge this summer, it would have the potential to be a hugely effective signing, given the level of his displays for Dortmund. He has been hailed as "outstanding" and someone with "huge potential" by former BVB 'keeper Roman Weidenfeller.
At 25, the four-cap Switzerland international should still be years away from the absolute peak of his powers, so he could come in as both Chelsea's first-choice man between the sticks but also someone who could remain that way for around a decade.
It doesn't look as though it will be easy for the Blues to change his mind and make him leave Dortmund, but even if he doesn't come in, it is essential that the next manager who comes in this summer sees a new stopper as a crucial piece of transfer business before the beginning of the 2023/24 season.
