Former Chelsea boss Graham Potter believes Spain international Robert Sanchez has all the tools to become an “absolute top keeper.”
Sanchez arrived at Chelsea last summer from Brighton in a deal worth up to £25m and had a difficult debut campaign at Stamford Bridge.
The Spaniard made a number of errors and then lost his place to Djordje Petrovic last December and didn’t win it back for the remainder of the season.
Potter shares thoughts on Sanchez
There was speculation that Chelsea may have looked to sell Sanchez in the summer, but despite the arrival of Filip Jorgensen from Villarreal, he’s started the season as Enzo Maresca’s first choice, with Petrovic joining Strasbourg on loan.
Sanchez in large has had a good start to the season with his brilliant performance against Bournemouth, which included a penalty save that meant the Blues left the south coast with the three points.
The 26-year-old had an afternoon to forget against former club Brighton and despite Chelsea running out 4-2 winners he made two huge errors which directly led to both goals.
However, Sanchez was back to his best in Sunday’s draw against Nottingham Forest in which he made a series of brilliant saves, including two late on to ensure the Blues didn’t lose.
Sanchez divides opinion, but former Blues boss Potter was full of praise for a player he knows very well having worked together at Brighton.
“His high-end actions are world-class. He has got the power, the size, the agility, the speed, he just makes the goal look really, really small. He plucks things out of the air just effortlessly. So that doesn’t surprise me,” he told Match of the Day 2.
“He is still a young goalkeeper, so he’s still working on being consistent with how he did, but his high-end stuff is world class. I think it’s about simplifying it sometimes with him. I think the structure that Enzo has put in will help him as well.
“But he has got a range of pass, he can go long, he can threaten the backline from the goalkeeper, that’s a real asset to have because as soon as you do that, it changes the defensive structure for the opponent because now they are thinking that guy is going to clear the backline.
“He has got all the tools to be an absolute top keeper.”
