The splendid Italian was heavily linked with Chelsea in the winter transfer window of 2006 when he was a mere 28 years old. My research initially led me to believe Jack Butland and John Ruddy had been the most high profile goalkeepers to turn the Blues down, neither of which would've been an ideal fit for an XI supposedly comprised of superstars. Digging a little deeper, however, unearthed that after Petr Cech sustained the skull injury against Reading which eventually forced him to wear his now trademark protective cap, Chelsea had gone in for the world class Italian stopper in a big way. Juventus had been demoted to Serie B at the time after being convicted of match fixing.
It's normal that a great club like Chelsea would show an interest or would be interested in one of the top goalkeepers in the world. If Chelsea were to make an offer it would be very difficult for any club to reject it. Gianluigi's very happy at Juventus. He had lots of offers in Italy and elsewhere this summer and turned them down.
While it is hard to find conclusive proof of whether or not Chelsea and Juve later agreed a fee, other statements suggest that unofficial contact was definitely made with the club and the player.
28-year old English writer with a borderline obsessive passion for films, videogames, Chelsea FC, incomprehensible words and indefensible puns. Follow me on Twitter if you like infrequent outbursts of absolute drivel.
