Schwarzer urges Chelsea to sign a new goalkeeper

Former Australian international goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer believes Chelsea’s failure to sign a top-class stopper is hindering their hopes of success.

Robert Sanchez has been the Blues’ first-choice goalie but was dropped to the bench for their last two league games against West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion.

He was replaced by Filip Jorgensen, who had previously been limited to appearances in domestic cup competitions and the Europa Conference League.

Schwarzer questions Sanchez’s ability

Speaking to David Seaman’s ‘Seaman Says’ podcast via Betway, the former Premier League goalkeeper said Chelsea’s decision to drop Sanchez was unsurprising.

“Sanchez, I don’t think, is good enough to be the number one at Chelsea,” Schwarzer said. “The question is, is Jorgensen good enough to be the number one? Only time will tell.

“I think in Europe he’s played pretty well, but that’s very different to playing in the Premier League. He looked a little bit nervy against West Ham but did well enough.

“Sanchez just makes way too many mistakes.”

Sanchez fails to inspire confidence

Sanchez arrived at Stamford Bridge from Brighton & Hove Albion with a reputation for being a commanding presence around his box.

However, doubts had previously been expressed about his ability with the ball at his feet, and those concerns have been magnified at Chelsea.

Sanchez has made several high-profile errors since joining the Blues, yet some metrics position him as one of the better goalkeepers in the Premier League.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca defended Sanchez after he dropped a clanger against Wolverhampton Wanderers but has since taken him out of the firing line.

Schwarzer believes Sanchez’s inability to handle the demands placed on modern-day goalkeepers is impacting the rest of his all-round game.

“I don’t know if he’s that good with his feet,” Schwarzer added. “I think he should be a lot better because he is potentially really good at it.

“His distribution can be really good, but I found that at Chelsea, his distribution’s been way out.

“I sometimes find that when guys are so good at it, they get too relaxed and complacent, and they make far too many mistakes because they do the really difficult thing rather than actually doing well.

“I’m going to play the simple thing, which is the right thing to do. But I’m going to go for this really intricate and really difficult pass, and we’re often not.

Chelsea must target a new goalkeeper this summer

Maresca’s decision to replace Sanchez with Jorgensen has not delivered the desired results, with the latter looking shaky against West Ham and Brighton.

Jorgensen should have done better with Kaoru Mitoma’s opening goal at the Amex Stadium, and does not look to be the answer to Chelsea’s goalkeeping woes.

Having spent over one billion pounds on their squad, Chelsea’s failure to resolve their goalkeeping issues is a sad indictment on the club’s owners.

Chelsea’s tally of 34 goals conceded in 25 league games is not good enough for a team with aspirations of qualifying for the Champions League.

They cannot afford to ignore the issue this summer and must sign an upgrade on their current crop of underwhelming options.