Chelsea on brink of significant upgrade to leave £20m star fretting and double exit likely

Current Chelsea No.1 Robert Sanchez insists he remains ‘the right guy’ to implement Enzo Maresca’s style of football and is ready to fight for his place amid talk of the club closing in on a reported upgrade.

The Spain international was signed from Brighton in a £20million deal last summer and went on to play 21 times for the Blues in his debut season for the club.

Sanchez largely shared the No.1 duties with Dorde Petrovic across the campaign, with neither stopper able to really nail down the position ahead of Enzo Maresca replacing Mauricio Pochettino as head coach.

And with the goalkeeping position seemingly a bit up in the air at Stamford Bridge, Sanchez has stated why he should be the go-to man for Maresca when the new campaign gets up and running.

DON’T MISS – Who next? The biggest transfer after every European Championship since Euro 96: Man Utd, Real Madrid signings…

The likes of Aaron Ramsdale, James Trafford, Bento and Jordan Pickford have all been linked with a move to west London this summer, but it looks as if Villarreal’s Filip Jorgensen is the top choice among Chelsea‘s top brass. Indeed, the club are reported to be closing in on a deal after lodging an opening offer for the highly-rated 22-year-old.

Despite that, Sanchez is confident he has the quality and character to make the position his own at Stamford Bridge for the long-term.

“I am training hard to get that position. I’ll get some minutes and we’ll go from there,” Sanchez told talkSPORT.

“I always think playing with my feet is my game. I feel really comfortable with what [Maresca] wants.

“He has explained what he wants from me and I’ve been doing it in training, and it’s looking really good at the moment.

“I know what I can bring to the team. I am positive. It’s a totally different [style]. The goalkeeper here needs to ‘have a pair’ and show a bit of personality. I think I am the right guy for that.

“Right now, I’m feeling really confident in training. It’s looking good. It’s about just being a bit different to what a normal goalkeeper is like, you need to have a bit of arrogance, hold the ball, show a bit, and like I said ‘have a pair’ and show a bit of quality.”

Chelsea duo tipped to leave

Reports this week state that Chelsea are open to selling Petrovic to free up space for a new keep this summer, with the Serbia international omitted from Chelsea’s squad for the club’s pre-season tour of the United States due to a minor injury.

The 24-year-old is expected to join up with his teammates soon but his long-term future remains unresolved.

READ NEXT – Exclusive: Atletico Madrid extremely confident of landing Chelsea star, who’s encouraged to move

Kepa Arrizabalaga, meanwhile, is expected to bring his six-year spell with the Blues to an end before the transfer deadline after spending last season on loan at Real Madrid.

In terms of Jorgensen’s qualities, the Demark Under-21 international earned rave reviews in Spain last season and it’s thought a deal to bring to Stamford Bridge will cost in the region of €25m.