![[Subscription Customers Only] Jul 13, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Chelsea FC goalkeeper Robert Sanchez (1) celebrates after forward Joao Pedro (20) scores their third goal during the final of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kai Pfaffenbach-Reuters via Imagn Images](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_95,w_2116,h_1190/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/310/01k8m4b2jexb7zgy0pza.jpg "[Subscription Customers Only] Jul 13, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Chelsea FC goalkeeper Robert Sanchez (1) celebrates after forward Joao Pedro (20) scores their third goal during the final of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kai Pfaffenbach-Reuters via Imagn Images")
A lot of Chelsea fans believe that the club need to sign another goalkeeper despite Robert Sanchez's solid start to the season. The issue is, it feels like the Spaniard always has a mistake in him, even when he is doing well, just like we saw against Manchester United. And while he deserves praise for his recent form, is he the long-term answer for the Blues if they want to be challenging for the Premier League in the future?
It had looked like Chelsea were viewing Mike Penders as the long-term answer. Dubbed the 'next Thibaut Courtois', he has gone out on loan and already established himself as a starter for Strasbourg.
But if recent speculation is anything to go by, Chelsea have another highly-rated young goalkeeper on their radar. It is another one who has earned a lot of plaudits in recent times. But is the right type of goalie to solve their current problems?
As reported by Corriere dello Sport (via CaughtOffside), Chelsea and AC Milan are both tracking Zion Suzuki. The Japanese international is studying English and Italian, a signal of a player preparing himself for the next step.
Chelsea interested in signing Japanese international goalkeeper
Suzuki has emerged as one of the most highly-rated goalkeepers in Serie A in recent years and it is easy to understand why that has been the case. He is a commanding presence in the box who is capable of initiating forward moves for his team.
That being said, the underlying stats do raise some question marks about his shot-stopping abilities. According to FBRef, over the last 365 days, compared to his positional peers in the men's Big 5 Leagues, UCL and UEL, Suzuki is 40th percentile when it comes to save percentage and 39th percentile in clean sheet percentage.
Of course, just those numbers might not, and probably do not, paint the whole picture. That being said, Chelsea need to be careful, not to sign a goalkeeper that will struggle with his primary job, which is to save goals, just because he is good in other aspects of the game.