Chelsea are set to sign Gabriel Slonina from Chicago Fire after agreeing a 15m euros deal to sign the American goalkeeper.
The Blues first expressed interest in signing Slonina earlier in the summer but looked set to miss out on a deal as Real Madrid entered the race.
Real Madrid had at least one bid rejected by Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire, however, and now Chelsea are on the verge of a £13m transfer.
ESPN say Chelsea have reached a verbal agreement to sign the 18-year-old, who has made 33 appearances for Chicago Fire since breaking into the first team in 2021.
It is claimed that Slonina is currently on his way to west London to complete his medical and put pen to paper on a long-term deal with Chelsea.
Slonina is expected to return to Chicago Fire after being unveiled by Chelsea and finish the current MLS campaign on loan before making a permanent move to the English capital in January.
The teenage shot-stopper is viewed as a future United States No. 1, having made multiple appearance for their youth level teams.
He will be expected to provide competition to first-choice Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy as £72m flop Kepa Arrizabalaga closes in on a move to Napoli.
Slonina will become Thomas Tuchel’s third summer signing following England forward Raheem Sterling and Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly.
But the £13m transfer is unlikely to completely appease Tuchel, who urged Chelsea’s owners to back him with more new signings after a shock 4-0 defeat to Arsenal in pre-season.
‘I look at the last season and parts of the game where we struggled, parts of the season where we struggled, and then we got sanctioned and players left us and some players are trying to leave us, and this is where it is,’ Tuchel said earlier in the month.
‘So we had an urgent appeal for quality players, a huge amount of quality players. We got two quality players but we are not competitive like this. Unfortunately you could see it today.’
Having wrapped up their pre-season schedule, Chelsea now turn attentions to their Premier League opener against Everton next weekend.
The Blues finished third last season and suffered penalty shootout defeats to Liverpool in both domestic cup competitions.
