Former Chelsea star John Obi Mikel has said something very bold — he thinks Robert Sanchez is not good enough to help Chelsea win trophies.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Mikel said the club needs to buy a better goalkeeper before the 2025/26 season starts. He believes Sanchez should not be Chelsea’s No.1 keeper when the new season kicks off.
Recently, there have been reports that Chelsea are no longer chasing AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan and are planning to stick with Sanchez, who joined from Brighton for £25 million.
But Mikel disagrees. He said:
“Chelsea fans know we need a top keeper. Sanchez has made too many mistakes. We’ve been lucky in the Club World Cup, but that won’t work in the Premier League or Champions League.”
Even though Sanchez had the best save percentage in the Premier League last season, he also made the most mistakes that led to goals — something Mikel thinks proves he can’t be trusted in big games.
Mikel also spoke about Chelsea’s defence. He said players like Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana are talented but not enough on their own. Fofana has had too many injuries, and others like Tosin Adarabioyo and Benoît Badiashile aren’t good enough to be regular starters at Chelsea.
He said:
“We need defenders like Saliba or Gabriel from Arsenal if we really want to challenge for big trophies.”
Chelsea have signed 19-year-old Mamadou Sarr from Strasbourg, but Mikel thinks he’s not ready yet to play at a high level in England.
Chelsea will face Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the Club World Cup final on Sunday, and Mikel says this game could show what level the team is really at ahead of the new season.
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