“Replace him” “He will stop us from winning the league” – John Obi Mikel tells Enzo Maresca 26-years-old Chelsea star will stop Chelsea from winning the league
John Obi Mikel believes Chelsea must replace Robert Sanchez and his blunders if they are to be regarded serious Premier League title challengers.
Chelsea won their third league game in a row last Saturday, 4-2 at home against Brighton, but Sanchez’s performance prompted concerns.
The Spanish goalkeeper was at fault for both Brighton goals, failing to claim a high ball that Georginio Rutter headed home before passing the ball to Carlos Baleba, who scored the away team’s second.
Sanchez’s blushes were spared by a superb four-goal haul from Cole Palmer but Obi Mikel, who twice won the league at Stamford Bridge, believes the 26-year-old is a liability that Enzo Maresca cannot afford if they are to challenge for the title this season.
‘He had a nightmare in the first half, he was at fault for the first two goals so for me, that’s a concern but apart from that we are looking very, very strong,’ he said, speaking on The Obi One Podcast.
‘Of course, the two games before that he performed very, very well but you want to be a title-winning team, you need a top, top goalkeeper.
‘Let’s not kid ourselves, we don’t have that. No disrespect to Robert Sanchez, he’s a fantastic goalkeeper but we need a top, top goalkeeper to compete.
Obi Mikel continued: ‘If he wants to become a top goalkeeper, he needs to start putting in those performances.
‘We know he’s not very good with his feet, that’s not a problem but we need a goalkeeper that’s assured in the goal, can make saves but I watched the game on Saturday and he was at fault for both goals.’
Dniash goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen was signed in the summer and will make his case to be Chelsea’s first-choice keeper in Thursday’s Conference League clash with Gent.
However, Maresca has thrown his weight behind current first-choice Sanchez and said his possession-heavy style is bound to cause some teething issues.
‘Filip has to do well because we need him doing well, not because he has to put pressure on Robert,’ the Italian said at a press conference on Wednesday.
‘I said after the game, usually we like to see the end part of the thing and that was a Robert mistake but the mistake started with Malo [Gusto] because we conceded a chance and then we conceded a goal.
‘It is not Robert’s or Malo’s problem. We will make some mistakes. I don’t think Filip needs to put pressure on Robert. We need him to play a good game because the team needs that.’