Petr Cech says £25m Chelsea star has ‘huge, huge potential’ | Football
Petr Cech says the chaotic situation at Chelsea is ‘not helping’ Robert Sanchez and insists the goalkeeper has ‘huge, huge potential’.
Chelsea hoped to kick on from Enzo Maresca’s promising first season at Stamford Bridge after qualifying for the Champions League last year and winning the Conference League.
But Maresca lost his job back in January following a difficult run and some pointed comments towards the Chelsea board.
Liam Rosenior was chosen as Maresca’s replacement but the ex-Strasbourg manager lasted just 106 days before he too was moved on.
Chelsea lost their last five Premier League games under Rosenior without scoring a goal, slipping to ninth in the table ahead of their clash against Nottingham Forest on Monday night.
Cech believes the ‘overall situation’ at Stamford Bridge is ‘not helping’ their current crop of goalkeepers, who have flattered to deceive during a dismal campaign for the Blues.
The poor form of Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen has led to calls for Chelsea to sign a new goalkeeper this summer but Cech insists the current No. 1 has ‘huge, huge potential’.
‘The goalkeepers are not being helped by the overall situation,’ Chelsea and Premier League legend Cech told The Athletic.
‘As a goalkeeper, if your team is struggling, then you have a bit of a problem yourself too because you’re exposed and there is a lot of pressure on you.
‘That can affect your performance because, as a goalkeeper, you rely on teamwork and the help of the people around you or the system around you.
‘Rob (Sanchez), you can see, he’s got a huge, huge potential, and there are games where you see it. You see his ability, his shot-stopping ability, and the saves he can produce at times.
‘But there are things for him to work on as well, like his consistency. He has games where he obviously makes wrong decisions, and as a goalkeeper, you know, these decisions are really visible.
‘The situation with Filip Jorgensen is an interesting one because every time he got a chance to come into the team a few times, he got injured and things did not happen as well for him as he would have liked.
‘Based on their abilities, I’m not surprised Chelsea brought them in, but I don’t think the team has managed to get the most out of them.’
Chelsea spent £25m to sign Sanchez from Premier League rivals Brighton in the summer of 2023.
The Spain international has made a little over 100 appearances for the Blues, most recently helping Chelsea beat Leeds United in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
Interim boss Calum McFarlane oversaw that victory at Wembley and will hope for another positive result when in-form Nottingham Forest visit Stamford Bridge on Monday.
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