ROBERT SANCHEZ’s horror show at Craven Cottage appears to have ended his tenure as the Chelsea No1.
The Spaniard, 28, was caught out at his near post when Josh King equalised in the 23rd minute, and palmed an effort straight into the path of Gonzalo Garcia when Fulham netted in the second half.
Robert Sanchez was twice caught out by Fulham Credit: Getty
Emi Martinez is by no means error-free Credit: Getty
Thankfully for Chelsea, they still got away with a 3-2 win in Xabi Alonso‘s first competitive game.
But by turning to Emi Martinez, the Stamford Bridge hierarchy may just be subbing out one calamitous keeper for another.
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At least that is what the stats suggest.
Because Martinez is far from a flawless, error-free stopper.
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In fact, he is only just behind Sanchez on the list of Premier League goalkeepers with the most errors leading to goals in the last three seasons.
And his prospective £7.5million signing from Aston Villa would mean that, if Chelsea keep Sanchez, they will have two of the top-four on their books.
Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen takes the unwanted pole position with a whopping 11 errors leading to goals since the start of the 2023/24 campaign.
He is the only man into double figures, with Sanchez next on eight.
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Third-place Aro Muric somehow managed his seven mistakes across just 28 Prem appearances for Burnley and Ipswich.
And then comes Martinez – alongside exiled Newcastle goalie Nick Pope – on six apiece.
Although the error stats do not reflect well on Martinez, he would head to Stamford Bridge with a strong CV.
He won the World Cup with Argentina in 2022 and the Europa League with Villa last season, establishing himself as one of the world’s top keepers.
If the 33-year-old completes his move as expected, attention will turn to how Chelsea reorganise their goalkeeper department.
Sanchez and Blues prospect Mike Penders were expected to battle for the No1 spot this season, and it seems unlikely that either would settle for being third-choice.
