December 9th 2024.
According to Ian Wright, Chelsea missed an opportunity by not signing former Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale to replace Robert Sanchez last summer. Ramsdale had a successful stint with Arsenal under Mikel Arteta for two seasons, but his spot on the team diminished with the arrival of David Raya from Brentford in August 2023. As a result, he decided to move to Southampton in search of more playing time and to improve his chances of remaining in the England squad.
Reflecting on Chelsea's recent 4-3 win against Tottenham, Wright shared his thoughts on the team's title prospects on the Kelly and Wrighty show. While they have a strong offense with players like Jadon Sancho and Cole Palmer, Wright believes that their defense needs to be tightened up. He believes that Ramsdale would have been a perfect addition to Chelsea, along with an experienced center-half like "Thiago Silva." In his opinion, with these additions, Chelsea would be a strong contender for the title.
Despite bringing in Filip Jorgensen in the summer, new Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has chosen Robert Sanchez as his first-choice goalkeeper. This decision has been met with criticism as Sanchez was previously sidelined in favor of Djordje Petrovic under former manager Mauricio Pochettino. While Sanchez's ball-playing skills align with Maresca's style, he has made some costly mistakes and his shot-stopping has been questionable this season.
Wright is not the only one who has doubts about Sanchez's long-term position on the team. Jamie Carragher also believes that Chelsea needs to upgrade their key defensive positions if they want to mount a serious title challenge. He points out that previous title-winning teams like Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea all had strong goalkeepers and center-backs.
Despite calls to drop Sanchez, Maresca has consistently chosen to stick with him as his number-one goalie. He has even stated that Sanchez will only be dropped if he stops taking risks with his distribution. Maresca believes that Sanchez's ball distribution is crucial to their style of play and any mistakes he makes are a result of his instructions. He is confident in Sanchez's abilities and is happy with the way he builds from the back, providing opportunities for the team to attack. As long as Sanchez continues to play this way, he will remain the first-choice goalkeeper for Chelsea.
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