Chelsea can solve biggest Enzo Maresca problem with obvious free transfer agreement

Chelsea endured yet another extremely busy summer transfer window with new arrivals stretching into double figures. Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Buonanotte were the latest to join - which took spending up to nearly £300million even with the latter signing on loan.

Not all of those funds were spent in the last few months, however, with Mike Penders, Kendry Paez and Estevao Willian officially joining this summer but signed in previous transfer windows. The likes of Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens and Jorrel Hato were all pursued and brought in ahead of the 2025/26 season.

An injury to Liam Delap - who joined the club in June - resulted in several Chelsea transfer twists on deadline day. Sporting CP's Conrad Harder was considered as a replacement but the Blues instead opted to recall Marc Guiu from his loan at Sunderland, which meant Nicolas Jackson was allowed to join Bayern Munich.

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Tyrique George appeared set to join Fulham but that switch fell through at the eleventh hour. Even with so many deals sanctioned, there is a clear weakness in Chelsea's main starting XI, though.

Despite an impressive Club World Cup, and two clean sheets this season, concerns over Robert Sanchez remain with inconsistencies evidenced by his role in West Ham's goal in Chelsea's 5-1 win at London Stadium last month.

Filip Jorgensen became Maresca's No.1 last season but Sanchez was back between the sticks for Premier League games after just a few weeks. With the goalkeeper situation very unclear, it was no surprise that Chelsea tried to sign Mike Maignan from AC Milan prior to the Club World Cup.

With just 12 months remaining on his deal,the Blues tried to sign him on the cheap but were met by a firm stance from the Italian giants, who wanted £25million to sell, which saw Chelsea leave the race for his signature.

Despite those attempts, Maresca insisted that he was happy with the shot-stoppers available to him. However, it seems likely that stance will change in just a few months - given the opportunity which will be in front of Chelsea.

In January, clubs can agree pre-contracts for players outside of their respective leagues and, thus, the Blues can sign Maignan for nothing in the summer of 2026 with everything potentially agreed earlier that year.

The France international will be 31 just after he is free to leave Milan, assuming he does not sign a new contract, but age is not a huge factor when it comes to goalkeepers. There is no guarantee interest from Stamford Bridge remains, though, especially after Maignan's mixed display at Chelsea's home in pre-season when Milan lost 4-1.