Chelsea star forces club to scrap transfer plans after strong start

Chelsea have reportedly abandoned their plans to sign a goalkeeper after Robert Sanchez’s promising start to the new season.

The club’s hunt to find an upgrade to replace Sanchez was well documented throughout the course of the summer transfer window on the back of an error-strewn campaign for the Spain international.

Sanchez lost his place in Enzo Maresca’s starting XI midway through the season, only to reclaim the gloves after Filip Jorgensen produced some less-than-convincing performances of his own between the sticks.

A host of high-profile shot-stoppers, including Gianluigi Donnarumma, James Trafford and Aaron Ramsdale, were linked with Chelsea before the club honed in on a deal for AC Milan’s Mike Maignan, who was keen to push through a move to Stamford Bridge.

But Chelsea’s hierarchy ultimately decided they were not prepared to meet Milan’s £20million asking price for Maignan, meaning Sanchez clung onto his spot as Maresca’s number one as the transfer deadline came and went.

Sanchez managed to silence his doubters with a string of impressive displays across Chelsea’s triumphant Club World Cup campaign, which saw the 27-year-old come back from the United States with the Golden Glove award.

And barring his sending off against Manchester United, Sanchez has proven he is ready to step up to the plate and fight for his long-term future at Chelsea in recent weeks.

According to Sky Sports, Chelsea have ‘no current plans’ to strengthen their goalkeeping options in the next two transfer windows, with Sanchez, Jorgensen and Mike Penders all considered ‘good enough’ to be first-choice.

It’s claimed Jorgensen, 23, remains ‘highly rated’ within Chelsea, while Penders, 20, has done his reputation no harm on loan at Strasbourg this term.

The report adds that the Blues are also satisfied with their current options at centre-back and will not be looking to strengthen the position in January.

Though considered one of the finest shot-stoppers in the Premier League, Sanchez has faced his fair share of criticism across his two-and-a-half year stay in west London.

Jamie Carragher has repeatedly argued that Chelsea’s wait for a Premier League title will continue should the club fail to sign an established replacement for the Spaniard.

However, Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel disagrees with Carragher’s verdict and jumped to Sanchez’s defence while speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live this week.

‘It’s a point we can take on with Robert Sanchez,’ the legendary former United and Denmark ‘keeper said.

‘When you play for these clubs and the pressure is so high, every little thing you do is under the microscope.

‘So when you’re the goalkeeper, and for instance, you say Sanchez is not very good with his feet, I don’t think he’s that bad, I actually don’t think he’s a bad goalkeeper.

‘I was asked on air the other day by Jamie Carragher – can Chelsea win the league with Sanchez? And I said, “Yeah, of course they can”, they need to defend better.’

Schmeichel added: ‘They’ve been defending really, really bad. That makes him a bad goalkeeper.

‘You have to complement each other, you have to work as a team, so the goalkeeper, the back four, the spine of the team, that has to work as one unit. If somebody doesn’t play well the rest of them will suffer.

‘And that’s the difference from winning the league and not winning the league. When you win the league you have that working, it works game by game, and there’s a trust there.

‘It’s clear when you concede the goals Chelsea have conceded it creates that insecurity straight away. You see it when you’re there, they look at each other, there’s not this thing where everything works automatically as it’s supposed to be working.’