Chelsea are allegedly set to face difficult competition from Aston Villa in the race to sign AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan this summer.

Maignan, 29, is regarded one of the best goalkeepers in the Serie A right now. He has helped Milan lift a Serie A title and one Supercoppa Italiana trophy since leaving LOSC Lille in 2021.

Now, according to famed reporter Niccolo Ceccarini, Maignan is likely to be a topic of transfer speculation after the end of the season. He has yet to sign a contract extension at Milan with his current deal set to expire in June 2026.

As a result, Chelsea and Aston Villa are keeping close tabs on Maignan’s current situation at the San Siro outfit. Both clubs are thought to be keen to launch a move for the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) academy graduate ahead of the next campaign.

Following Milan‘s 2-2 Serie A draw against Fiorentina earlier on Saturday (April 5), Maignan was quizzed about his future. He responded (h/t Sport Witness):

“As I have said before, I feel good at Milan. I give everything for the shirt every time I put it on, every day. At this moment, I want to tell the truth, I don’t want to talk about the contract, I want to talk about football. Milan deserves more, we want more. My personal case is not the most important thing at this moment.”

So far, Maignan has made 154 appearances across competitions for AC Milan. He has registered 55 clean sheets, including 46 in the Serie A, and conceded 163 goals for the Rossoneri.

Chelsea boss opens up on recent 0-0 draw

Earlier this weekend, Chelsea were held to a 0-0 Premier League draw at Brentford. They relished 59% possession and registered 21 shots at Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday (April 6).

Queried to opine on the latest result, Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca replied to reporters (h/t Metro):

“I think, overall, we played a good game. We played Thursday night, demanding game, 24 hours less than them. It’s a tricky stadium, tricky game. Sunny day, the pitch was dry. They tried to kill the tempo of the game. So, for me, it was a complicated game.”

The former Manchester City assistant coach continued:

“But, overall, as I said, I think we did enough to win the game. We shot more than 20 times and probably the only thing we missed was the goal, but overall happy with the performance. We just the missed the goal. We can always do something better, not only today, but in general. When you shoot more than 20 times, you’ve made enough to win the game.”

Chelsea are fourth in the league table with 53 points from 31 matches.