The third goalkeeper is a unique role, and one Chelsea have underserved in the last two seasons. Eduardo’s release and Willy Caballero’s shakiness open the door for Chelsea to do right by the position and their young keepers.
One of the most ridiculous, least plausible transfer stories of recent memory (yes, that’s saying something) caught our eye yesterday. According to a Portuguese newspaper, Chelsea are not only considering re-signing Eduardo. They are considering re-signing Eduardo and then loaning the 34-year old to – wait for it – Vitesse. Nothing about this has a shred of sense or sensibility, not for Chelsea and not for Vitesse.
Eduardo’s release is the first step towards Chelsea making the backup goalkeepers work as they should. Willy Caballero and Eduardo were redundant. Either would have been a decent backup goalkeeper, and either would have been a solid third goalkeeper. But Chelsea did not need both sitting behind Thibaut Courtois. The club’s mismanagement prevented an up-and-coming goalkeeper from taking a necessary step in his development.
A club should have two very different keepers behind their starter. One should be a mid-30s stalwart, an experienced old hand riding out his final days in a kit. The other should be a very young, rather green prospect. A player can start this role as early as age 18. The specifics will depend on which is the backup and which is the third keeper. In Chelsea’s case, Caballero should have been the backup keeper with a youngster as the third goalkeeper. Or, Eduardo should have been the third goalkeeper with the youngster as the backup. But, again, they had both.
The Courtois-Caballero-Eduardo battery meant there was no mentorship among the goalkeeping ranks, no build towards the future. Thibaut Courtois rejected Christophe Lollichon, the man who coached Petr Cech. He was sure as day not going to bother himself to learn from a pair of mid-30s free transfers.
The mentorship is a key component of the ideal keeper set-up. The purpose is not always for the young player to amass first-team playing time, as would be the case for a position player. The young keeper would train with the first-team and learn from the older pair, but still would play most of his minutes with the youth or U23 sides. The two backups may split domestic cup duties, but in case of injury to the starter there would be no question who would fill in for the Premier League games.
Willy Caballero showed all his vulnerabilities in his final appearance for Argentina at the World Cup. He arrived at Chelsea on a free transfer, and can expect to leave under no different circumstances. The Blues may shift him from backup to third goalkeeper, despite his success in the FA Cup last season.
Chelsea should replace Eduardo with one of their talented young goalkeepers, and then decide the order between him and Caballero. Jamal Blackman has had four loans – three in England, one in Sweden – since leaving the academy. Sheffield United, his most recent loan destination, is pushing hard to have him come back for another season in the Championship. Leeds United are fighting for his signature as well. Both would take a loan, but both would prefer a transfer.
Their interest should convince Chelsea of Blackman’s value and readiness to play with the first team. At 23 years old, Blackman would mirror Asmir Begovic in the backup position, with Caballero as the third keeper. In a few years, Blackman would have enough top-tier experience in England and Europe to either compete for the starting spot or earn a transfer to a Premier League club, like Begovic did.
Marcin Bulka is the option at the other extreme. At age 18, he would likely start out as the third goalkeeper with Caballero as the backup. However, once he made his senior debut – most likely in the early rounds of the Carabao Cup – it would be game on between Bulka and Caballero. Bulka could end the season as the backup, and carry that into 2019/20 with Chelsea or a loan to the starting spot on a first-tier team.
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Chelsea have plenty of work to do with their starting goalkeeper situation. However, they have the opportunity to do something easy and proper with their backup goalkeepers. They have the personnel they need, they just need the will to do it. Anything that brings Jamal Blackman or Marcin Bulka into the first team is far preferable to signing another late-career goalkeeper on a free transfer.