Enzo Maresca considers dropping Chelsea star for £21m signing

 

Enzo Maresca considers dropping Chelsea star for £21m signing

Enzo Maresca is considering a shake-up of his Chelsea team as they continue to fall away in the Premier League.

Chelsea defied expectations in the first-half of the season to emerge as surprise title challengers.

At one stage it looked like Chelsea, who finished fifth last season, would be Liverpool’s biggest rival for the Premier League title, but a poor run since Christmas has seen the Blues slip to sixth.

Chelsea drew 0-0 with Everton in mid-December before losing to Fulham and Ipswich Town at the end of 2024.

Maresca’s side have only won one of their four league games in 2025 and were beaten 3-1 by Manchester City on Saturday to lose more ground on the top-four race.

Chelsea led at the Etihad Stadium through Noni Madueke’s early goal but the visitors failed to take advantage of their ascendancy and were pegged back before half time by Josko Gvardiol’s equaliser.

Erling Haaland then put Man City ahead on 68 minutes – chipping Robert Sanchez as the Chelsea goalkeeper bizarrely rushed off his line – before Phil Foden put the game to bed late on.

Sanchez’s error was his fifth of the season that has led directly to a goal – the most by a Premier League goalkeeper.

Maresca has repeatedly defended Sanchez, who completed a £25m move from Brighton in 2023, but is now considering taking him out of the firing line for Chelsea’s next match.

The Daily Mail say Maresca will consider dropping Sanchez for the London derby against West Ham next Monday, with back-up goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen waiting in the wings.

Jorgensen has made 13 appearances for Chelsea since his £21m move from Villarreal last summer but only two of those have come in the league.

Maresca was asked about the form of his No. 1 after he made another mistake in Chelsea’s defeat to Manchester City.

‘For sure, he is completely aware he has to do better,’ Maresca said. ‘He was completely aware after the game, he knows perfectly.

‘In this moment it’s like this. The good thing is he’s the first one who knows he has to do better.’

Asked if he still trusts Sanchez, Maresca replied: ‘We trust Robert, for sure.

‘But in the same moment, as I said, the first one who is completely aware he’s making a mistake is Robert.

‘So for sure we continue to trust Robert, we trust Robert but now we have one entire week and we see the reaction and then we decide for the next game.’

Sanchez was called a ‘liability’ for Chelsea back in November by former Premier League midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker.

Asked if Chelsea can contend for the title with Sanchez in goal, Reo-Coker told BBC Five Live: ‘No. I think sometimes he can be a liability for Chelsea, in my opinion.

‘He’s a top, top shot stopper. But I think there are too many mistakes in him and lapses in concentration at times.

‘And one of the weaknesses in this Chelsea side is sometimes when they do try to play out from the back they leave themselves vulnerable.

‘A well-organised team that presses well with payers who are comfortable in one-on-one situations can catch them off guard at times.

‘For me, I feel they do need to improve in the goalkeeping area still for them to really talk about winning Premier League titles.’

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