Chelsea have been undergoing a drastic transformation this season, with roughly £600m incredibly being spent on the transfer front amid new ownership and a shifting of the managerial wheel, and boss Graham Potter might now look to replenish the shot-stopping department.

Kepa Arrizabalaga has divided opinion since his £71.6m move from Athletic Bilbao – the world-record fee paid for a goalkeeper – and while he has improved this term, notably with the efficacy of his shot-stopping, Edouard Mendy, integral in Chelsea's triumphant Champions League 2020/21 campaign, has struggled for minutes.

According to Football Insider, Blues owner Todd Boehly has earmarked Leeds United keeper Illan Meslier as the optimum choice to enter the fray in west London, given his starring role in the Whites' Premier League exploits since clinching promotion from the Championship in 2020, the prestigious outfit having spent 16 seasons mired below the top-flight.

Potter is believed to have demanded a fresh face between the sticks to complete the new-look lucrative outfit, and the 23-year-old could be the perfect pick to nurture into a first-rate talent at Stamford Bridge.

Should Chelsea sign Meslier?

Kepa has indeed been a far more reliable presence this term, playing 27 matches across all competitions, keeping 11 clean sheets and ranking among the top 8% of positional peers playing in Europe's major leagues over the past year for save percentage and the top 9% for clean sheet percentage, as per FBref.

But his sustainability in a prominent role at Chelsea has been thrown into question, and he is not expected to stick the landing with speculation increasing over the club's desires for a new goalkeeper.

Mendy, comparatively, was considered a revelation after joining the outfit for just £22m in 2020 from French side Rennes but has played just three times in the Premier League since Potter's debut against former club Brighton & Hove Albion, a 4-1 loss commencing a triad of defeats.

Indeed, that is owed to a number of notable blunders with Rio Ferdinand stating that the goalkeeper needs to "eradicate those mistakes from his game" at the beginning of the campaign.

On the other hand, the "rare talent" of Meslier – as dubbed by Leeds reporter Phil Hay – looks an entirely different prospect. The commanding £30k-per-week gem has made 118 appearances for the Yorkshire-based team since his switch from hometown Lorient, where he kick-started his professional career.

The nine-cap France U21 international's top-flight experience belies his tender age, with goalkeepers typically blossoming into their own at a later stage than their outfield peers, with Meslier ranking among the top 17% of position peers across Europe for goal kicks and the top 21% for crosses stopped per 90.

With his feats on the pitch only set to improve as he continues his development, a move to Chelsea could unleash his full might on English football, with a bid of at least £30m touted for his services.

Such a transfer would continue Chelsea's trend of investing in youth and crafting a dynasty set to linger like mist on the rest of the Premier League, engulfing opposition and ascending the illustrious London giants to the very top of the game.