Most of the time, transfer talk on this site consists of citing and linking other news outlets. We’ll do some of that again, in this edition of Chelsea FC transfer talk, but we also have a scoop of our own. Gaga Slonina to Chelsea is going to happen, and a source close to the Chicago Fire FC organization told us that, first hand, directly.
Yes, yes, we know this news isn’t “new” by any means, as the 18-year-old USMNT goalkeeper has been part of a transfer narrative that dragged on and on, for months already, but it looks like this protracted transfer saga is now finally reaching its conclusion.
Gaga Slonina is going to #Chelsea, a source closely connected to the Chicago Fire FC organization told me, firsthand, directly, on Sunday.
This elongated transfer narrative is nearing conclusion. #cf97 #vamosfire #ChelseaFC #chelseaintheusa— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) July 18, 2022
However, there may still be a delay until an official announcement is made because the agreement stipulates that Slonina will be staying put with the Chicago Fire for the rest of the 2022 MLS season on loan. Technically, he’d be “heading back” to the Fire, who, according to multiple sources, will be collecting a transfer fee of $10 million on this deal.
So what does this mean for Gabriel “Gaga” Slonina, the Addison, IL born shot-stopper who committed to playing his international football with the USA, instead of Poland?
As one of the Fire’s core nucleus of home grown players, he’s really come into his own this season. He has a very bright future ahead of him and the potential is there for him to become the Chelsea No. 2 and maybe even the USMNT No. 1 before too long.
The next step is to get to Chelsea later this year year, and then go out on loan to one of the top European leagues where he can further grow, develop and hone specific skills. This is the kind of thing that Chelsea really excel at.
We’ve also done a deeper dive on Gaga Slonina, and what the Chelsea move means over at this link and this link.
Chelsea FC 2022 Summer Transfer Window Thus Far
Confirmed Official Incomings
Raheem Sterling – Manchester City, $56.3 million
Kalidou Koulibaly – Napoli, $39.1 million
Confirmed Official Outgoings
Romelu Lukaku – Inter Milan (loan, with $8.1-million loan fee)
Antonio Rudiger – Real Madrid (free transfer)
Andreas Christensen – Barcelona (end of contract)
Danny Drinkwater (end of contract)
The words of Robert Lewandowski: pic.twitter.com/nx2UCULhiQ
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 18, 2022
Shifting gears, but keeping with the Polish theme, Chelsea have missed out on one of their targets this summer, as Robert Lewandowski has officially joined FC Barcelona. Poland’s all-time leading scorer has been linked with Chelsea with this summer, but everybody knew that he wanted Barcelona all along.
Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn confirmed this news on Saturday via a club statement:
“We have agreed to release Robert Lewandowski. We have a verbal agreement with FC Barcelona, the contract is still pending.
“We know very well what we have to thank Robert for, but great players have also left FC Bayern in the past, and even after that, Bayern’s world did not fall apart. On the contrary, it often continued with even more success.”
Bayern team president Herbert Hainer also confirmed the verbal agreement (the contract and other paperwork still need to be finalized), earlier today as he said the club were “incredibly grateful for his service.”
Robert Lewandowski gets a warm welcome from his new team ?
(via @FCBarcelona)pic.twitter.com/fG9e0APfC3
— B/R Football (@brfootball) July 18, 2022
Like Slonina, this was a transfer saga that went on and on for months. He’s been unveiled by Barca now, so Stamford Bridge will have to look elsewhere now in terms of finding a new forward. It won’t be Cristiano Ronaldo either, as apparently the only people actually interested in that potential deal were Ronaldo and his agent.
United don’t actually want to sell him and Thomas Tuchel doesn’t even want to buy him anyway.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.