We are just two games into the new season and already Xabi Alonso has made a ruthless transfer decision and it is set to have a big impact on the Chelsea squad
Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso has made some brutal calls in the summer transfer window(Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
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As Robert Sanchez warmed up in front of a slowly-filling Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening, Chelsea supporters may have been alerted on their phones to news that the club had agreed a £7.5million deal to sign Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Sanchez warmed up alongside Mike Penders, who replaced his goalkeeper counterpart for the Carabao Cup second round victory over Luton Town, and Gabriel Slonina. Martinez may have watched on as Penders and the Blues cruised to victory over the League One outfit.
The 33-year-old Argentina international is set to sign a two-year contract - with the option of a further 12 months - at Stamford Bridge after his representatives offered him to the Blues a few days prior. It was a brilliantly-timed offer from Martinez's camp; coming in the aftermath of Sanchez's subpar showing at Craven Cottage.
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All of the noises pre-summer from Chelsea sources were that Xabi Alonso would be backed in the transfer market. The Blues promised to give the Spaniard more power than his predecessors when it came to the club's business and they have lived up to their words.
Alonso took one look at Sanchez - unfortunately for the goalkeeper, it was his worst performance in some time - and made a ruthless call. While there have been signs over the last 12 months of improvement from Sanchez, he was the obvious weak link in the Chelsea squad. Now, two matches into the new season, his future at Stamford Bridge is in serious doubt.
However, Chelsea will have issues selling him given there are less than three days of the summer transfer window remaining. Clubs don't tend to leave goalkeeper business this late in the window.
This, though, was never Chelsea's plan. Blues sources have been adamant all summer-long that the club were not on the lookout for a new shot-stopper and were more than happy with what they already had at the club. The plan was for Sanchez to start the season as the No.1 goalkeeper and Penders compete with the more experienced Spaniard for the role as the campaign progressed.
It appears, however, that Sanchez was walking on thin ice, particularly when a goalkeeper of Martinez's pedigree was available for a fee considered next to nothing in today's transfer market.
Emiliano Martinez
Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Emiliano Martinez(Image: Ismael Adnan/SOPA Images/LightRocket)
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Sanchez has a history of mistakes and calamitous moments in the Chelsea goal. Put it this way: the former Brighton 'keeper has been dropped by Alonso's last three predecessors in Mauricio Pochettino, Enzo Maresca and even Liam Rosenior in his less-than-four-month spell.
Martinez, a World Cup winner with vast experience playing in England's top tier, looks to be a shrewd piece of business, even if it does somewhat block Penders' pathway into the first team - in the short-term, anyway.
BlueCo have worked with Alonso this summer to bring in more experienced footballers with strong mentalities to try and create a new, more successful culture at Cobham. While Martinez has undeniably irked supporters from all across the globe, the Argentina international is a proven winner - he is exactly what this Chelsea squad need right now.
While the decision to sign Martinez came after the goalkeeper was offered to Chelsea, sources say it was an option considered earlier in the summer. Chelsea, however, feel the time is right to make a big change. Alonso was the catalyst behind said change and it could be a season-defining call from the new manager, whose reputation among Blues supporters has increased even more as a result.