Liam Rosenior has made the call to drop Robert Sanchez, and it now seems likely that Mike Penders will be taking over as Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper.
Sanchez was left out in favour of Filip Jorgensen for the Premier League match against Aston Villa, and the Spaniard did well enough that he’s expected to keep his place for the FA Cup game against Wrexham.
There’s growing anticipation at Stamford Bridge about Penders’ arrival this summer. The Dutchman is currently Strasbourg’s number one, but he’s already being talked about as a long-term solution in west London.
Liam Rosenior praises Mike Penders’ ability on the ball
Rosenior, who previously managed Strasbourg, is already familiar with the young Belgian and how he was used further up the pitch during his time in France.
The Blues boss spoke about Penders’ skills to Discovery, calling him ‘outstanding’ in possession.
He said: “When Mike came, we realised very, very quickly that he’s an outstanding operator in possession. And what that enables you to do is it enables you to have an extra man in terms of your passing angles.
“So having him that high looks crazy because a lot of teams don’t do it, but actually gives us a lot of control where we know we probably won’t lose the ball because we have an extra passing option.”
Sanchez has struggled with passing out from the back during his time at Stamford Bridge.
He put his team-mates under real pressure against Arsenal. It was Mamadou Sarr’s first Premier League start for the club and this is something he wouldn’t have appreciated.
Chelsea coaches are reportedly keen for Penders to become number one at Chelsea next season and will be keeping a close eye on his performances over in France for the remainder of this campaign.
Strasbourg are now managed by Gary O’Neil and are among the favourites to win this season’s Conference League, just one year after Chelsea achieved the same feat.
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