Arsenal v Chelsea - Premier League
Robert Sanchez is under scrutiny again after a poor display against Arsenal (Picture: Getty)
Glen Johnson has backed Chelsea to make a move to replace Robert Sanchez with Manchester City misfit James Trafford.
The Spain international joined the Blues from Brighton two-and-a-half years ago and is currently firmly established as the club’s No.1.
An error-strewn display against Arsenal in last weekend’s 2-1 London derby defeat has seen the 28-year-old’s position placed under scrutiny again, however.
Sanchez lost his place to Djordje Petrovic for a spell while Mauricio Pochettino was at the helm, while he was dropped on several occasions by Enzo Maresca who handed several opportunities to Filip Jorgensen.
Chelsea also have the highly-rated Mike Penders on their books and the Belgium Under-21 international is currently impressing on loan at Liam Rosenior’s former club, Strasbourg.
Former Chelsea defender Johnson, however, believes Sanchez’s struggles have been overplayed and insists the goalkeeper’s strengths outweigh his weaknesses.
‘It’s very hard because form can change so quickly,’ he told Boyle Sports. ‘There have been times where Robert Sanchez has saved Chelsea in games and made incredible saves, but he does have that mistake in him.
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‘As we know, if the keeper makes a mistake, it usually, nine times out of ten, results in a goal. So it can be literally game-changing. But I don’t think he’s been bad enough to say, ‘Right, you have to replace him.’ Because when he’s in form, I think he’s been fantastic.
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‘He just needs to bounce back now and regain his confidence. Then I think he’s absolutely fine. He’s not bad enough to think he’s a must-replace player.’
Sanchez represents one of the more experienced players Chelsea have bought under their Clearlake ownership with the American consortium having focused their recruitment efforts on young, up and coming talent.
If there is to be a change between the posts at the start of next season, Johnson believes Trafford,23, could fit the bill.
The former Burnley star’s £31million move to the Etihad Stadium hasn’t panned out as anticipated. Indeed, the shot-stopper hasn’t made a Premier League appearance since August following the unexpected arrival of Gianluigi Donnarumma.
FBL-ENG-FACUP-MAN CITY-SALFORD
James Trafford’s move to Man City hasn’t worked out (Picture: Getty)
‘James Trafford to Chelsea?’ pondered Johnson. ‘It worked with Cole Palmer, didn’t it?
‘Even that one at the time was a surprise to me, because I’ve never really seen him play before, to be honest. And the same with the goalkeeper, I’ve not seen him play.
‘But in terms of could it come off? Absolutely it can. It’d be unlikely, I guess, because it’s a big role to be the number one goalkeeper at Chelsea. You normally need a lot of experience, and you can only get experience by gaining experience, obviously.
‘But to risk it with a youngster like that, it could be risky. Even if he was to sign and do a couple of years behind a number one and learn the club and learn everything that way, then of course in three years time or something, then he could easily be the main man.’
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