{"id":48915,"date":"2026-04-16T15:24:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T09:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=48915"},"modified":"2026-04-16T16:49:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T11:19:51","slug":"marcel-desailly-calls-for-chelsea-goalkeeping-upgrade-says-robert-sanchez-is-not-up-to-the-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/football\/marcel-desailly-calls-for-chelsea-goalkeeping-upgrade-says-robert-sanchez-is-not-up-to-the-level\/","title":{"rendered":"Marcel Desailly calls for Chelsea goalkeeping upgrade, says Robert Sanchez \u201cis not up to the level\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"176\" data-end=\"403\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Chelsea FC<\/span><\/span> have once again come under scrutiny over their goalkeeping situation, with club legend <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Marcel Desailly<\/span><\/span> openly calling for a change ahead of the summer transfer window.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"405\" data-end=\"647\">The former defender has raised concerns about current No.1 <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Robert Sanchez<\/span><\/span>, suggesting his performances are falling short of the level expected at a club competing at the top of the <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Premier League<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to GOAL, Desailly was blunt about Chelsea\u2019s defensive issues. He pointed out that the Blues have lost three of their last four Premier League matches, directly linking the poor results to the goalkeeper\u2019s lack of authority. \u201cNo consistency because the goalkeeper is not up to the level,\u201d Desailly said. He added that Sanchez fails to provide the necessary strength and confidence to defenders like Wesley Fofana.<\/p>\n<h3>Chelsea\u2019s Ongoing Goalkeeping Problems<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"1279\" data-end=\"1506\">Chelsea\u2019s struggles to establish a dependable first-choice goalkeeper have persisted for several seasons. The club signed <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Kepa Arrizabalaga<\/span><\/span> in 2018 for a world-record fee, but consistency remained elusive.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1508\" data-end=\"1737\">A temporary solution arrived with <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Edouard Mendy<\/span><\/span>, who played a key role in the club\u2019s UEFA Champions League triumph and earned individual recognition. However, stability faded again following his departure.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1739\" data-end=\"2092\">Sanchez, brought in from Brighton for \u00a325 million, was expected to bring composure and reliability. Instead, his performances\u2014particularly his distribution from the back\u2014have raised concerns. In a system where goalkeepers are expected to contribute to build-up play, uncertainty in possession can quickly spread across the team and even into the stands.<\/p>\n<h3>What Chelsea Need This Summer<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"2151\" data-end=\"2448\">Desailly believes the solution is clear: Chelsea need an experienced, international-level goalkeeper who can deliver consistency and leadership. The emphasis is not necessarily on signing a global superstar, but rather a dependable presence capable of minimising errors and organising the defence.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2450\" data-end=\"2747\">With the 2026 summer transfer window approaching, the club has an opportunity to finally resolve a position that has lacked stability for years. Emerging names such as <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Mike Penders<\/span><\/span> and <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Robin Roefs<\/span><\/span> are already being discussed as potential options.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chelsea FC have once again come under scrutiny over their goalkeeping situation, with club legend Marcel Desailly openly calling for\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":502,"featured_media":48923,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[312,5218],"class_list":["post-48915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-chelsea","tag-marcel"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/502"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48915"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48921,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48915\/revisions\/48921"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}