Chelsea loanee Gabriel Slonina is 'excited' by the challenge of playing in the Premier League after snubbing Real Madrid's transfer interest in the summer.
Slonina was signed by the Blues during the summer transfer window in a £12million deal but will remain with Chicago Fire until January 2023. The young goalkeeper's signing signalled a change in transfer strategy from co-owner Todd Boehly as the American looks to protect Chelsea's long-term future by signing highly-rated talents now.
Real Madrid were thought to be keen on signing Slonina but the 18-year-old opted to sign for the west London outfit instead. Chicago Fire have already been eliminated from the MLS Cup playoffs and Slonina has now spoken out on his excitement ahead of his return to Stamford Bridge in the new year.
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Speaking on an episode of The Call Up podcast, Slonina admitted he is 'super excited' to join up with the Chelsea squad next year after impressing during his time with Chicago Fire. The 18-year-old said: "I'm super excited just to be in that environment and see what it's like in the Premier League.
"How the coach acts when we win, when we lose, what's the locker room look like? Just that level of pressure, I can't wait to be in there and be in that environment because I think you're going to learn from every single person there."
Slonina set the record for the youngest player to start an MLS game at 17 years and 81 days old and wants to challenge Edouard Mendy and Kepa Arrizabalaga upon his arrival at Stamford Bridge. The talented 'keeper recorded 16 clean sheets in 43 games for the Fire and was named in MLS's 22 under-22 list for this year.
Slonina was signed under Thomas Tuchel's tenure with Chelsea but the American talent is keen to get to work and impress new head coach Graham Potter. The 18-year-old added: "The path that they showed me and presented me while I was talking to them was something I really liked.
"They [Chelsea] really focused on a player's development and making sure they're seeing the right things, playing games and getting minutes. Because obviously for a young goalkeeper, that's super important.
"You can train a lot, but you still have to see those game minutes and everything. I was drawn to the fans, to the location of where it's at. And it's Chelsea, so it was a no-brainer."
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