Chelsea’s goalkeeper situation is a very strange one, and the fact that we’re doing well and Robert Sanchez made a few good saves at the weekend shouldn’t distract from that.
The story so far: Chelsea had a really good goalkeeper (Thibaut Courtois). He forced his way out, and we had to spend big on a replacement (Kepa Arrizabalaga). He turned out to be rubbish, and after a couple of years of him costing us point we splashed out on Edouard Mendy. He was good for a bit, then went off the boil, and was sent off to Saudi Arabia.
Next up was Sanchez, who was signed in the last summer alongside Djordje Petrovic, another stopper. Sanchez got injured this time last year, and Petrovic stepped in. The Serbia international impressed, and did enough to keep his place even when Sanchez returned.
Yet this summer, it was Petrovic shipped out on loan to Strasbourg, while Sanchez was restored to first team status – despite the events of last year. It’s not a series of decisions which scream “competence” or “planning,” and the team’s results have suffered massively over the years as a consequence.
Petrovic’s future could still be at Chelsea
Petrovic’s destination for the season has been our sister club Strasbourg in Ligue 1. It makes sense to keep him in the family, but it’s a big step down from being a starter for a top Premier League team.
As you’d expect, he’s smashing it there. GiveMeSport claim he’s impressing and still intends on forcing his way back into our first team at some point.
While he didn’t look a world beater last season, he’s young enough and talented enough to improve significantly and we wouldn’t ever rule out him coming back and doing just what is promised here. The issue will be if the club make another major investment in the position over the next 12 months.
