Our Chelsea fans here in the Transfer Tavern are seemingly in for another tough summer with the latest transfer rumours flying around about their number one goalkeeper. Indeed, the man currently playing back up – Willy Caballero – is now in demand.

That’s because rumour mill has been in full flow ever since Thibaut Courtois announced in an interview that his heart is in Madrid with his family. At that point, many of the Blues in our bar thought a summer move to the Bernabeu is nailed on, and with that Chelsea don’t want to be losing both goalkeepers at once, with Caballero impressing during his sporadic appearances this season.

If Antonio Conte is still at the club come the summer then he will have a tough job replacing the backup Argentine with someone of similar ilk and experience. There are many goalkeepers around Europe who would jump at the chance of a move to Stamford Bridge, but if they are good enough is another question entirely.

However, our landlord has come up with a two-man shortlist of potential goalkeepers to replace Caballero, should he leave…

Thomas Strakosha

At 22, Thomas Strakosha is a regular in the Lazio team so far this season. He has brilliant concentration levels and often prefers to go for the long pass upfield over the shorter simpler option to start an attack from the back, potentially helping Chelsea hit teams on the counter.

Strakosha isn’t as tall as the man we’re about to mention but many of the regulars feel that with age on his side, the Albanian could turn out to be a world-class ‘keeper for the Blues.

Jiri Pavlenka

The Werder Bremen keeper stands at way over six foot tall and is certainly a presence in his 18-yard box. Although catching crosses is not one of his strong points, he often likes to punch out instead, though that’s something that can be worked on by Conte. Still, despite that, he is a fantastic shot-stopper and his reflexes are second to none, so Chelsea could do a lot worse.

At 25, he could be a ‘keeper for many years to come, and the Czech Republic man would relish following in the great Petr Cech footsteps by moving to Chelsea.