After selling Edouard Mendy to Al-Ahli SFC, Chelsea are looking for a new custodian this summer. According to Andy Naylor of The Athletic, Robert Sanchez is a potential candidate.
The 25-year-old made 90 appearances across all competitions for Brighton & Hove Albion, giving up 102 goals while keeping 29 clean sheets. He joined the club in 2013 from Levante. However, he faces an unclear future at Amex Stadium.
Prior to losing his spot due to poor form, Sanchez was a regular in the first part of the previous season, starting in 22 Premier League games between August and February.
The last three months of the season saw the Spanish international take a backseat as Jason Steele was favored in goal.
After refusing to sit on the bench after being dropped, Naylor claims he doesn’t get along well with manager Roberto De Zerbi, thus he might be allowed to leave.
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Sanchez won’t break the bank because, as David Kent of Mail Online reported earlier in July, Brighton would accept a £30 million offer.
The question is whether Chelsea would spend that much money on a backup custodian because Kepa Arrizabalaga isn’t leaving. Mendy was moved since the 28-year-old was a starter last season, so Sanchez would have to be content with a supporting position.
The Spaniard kept the same number of clean sheets (6) in 23 games as Steele did in 15 games, ranking 17th in the Premier League for saves (64.8% of shots on target faced), therefore his reputation has taken a hit.
Even Brighton is delighted to let go of Sanchez, who was once thought to be one of the league’s top goalkeepers.
The question now is whether Sanchez, who became dissatisfied with his lack of playing time at Brighton, would be willing to sit on the bench at Stamford Bridge. He is undoubtedly too young and valuable to spend every week on the bench.
