It is no secret that Chelsea fans want the club to sign a new goalkeeper. In the summer, for a while, it looked like that was what the Blues wanted as well. They were pushing for a move to sign Mike Maignan from AC Milan but when a deal could not be found with the Italian side, they did not end up going for any other alternative and stuck with their options.
On his day, Robert Sanchez is a pretty good goalkeeper. But then, it feels like he has issues with his concentration and always has a mistake in him. The red card against Manchester United is a prime example of that. But on a few occasions, he has given the ball away in a poor position without the opposition taking advantage of the error.
Chelsea need someone a bit more reliable if they want to be competing for the top prizes in world football. There are hopes that Mike Penders will turn out to be that guy in the long term, having already established himself as the starter on loan at Strasbourg.
But it looks like Chelsea came close to signing another highly-rated youngster not too long ago, only for the move to fall apart in the final step. As reported by Tribuna, Girona goalkeeper Vladyslav Krapyvtsov said:
"I could have ended up at Arsenal or Chelsea, but at the last moment there were problems with the documents. These are the nuances of the Premier League regulations. Chelsea were unable to get another additional place in the application for me. The agent called and told me how it was."
La Liga goalkeeper confirms Chelsea almost signed him
Krapyvtsov is a highly-rated goalkeeper for sure. So far, he has made four appearances for Girona. And it is hard to imagine that he would have been a starter for Chelsea even if he arrived.
That being said, he is still just 20 years of age and has plenty of time to establish himself at the top level. Goalkeepers often get their breaks later on in their careers, so there is nothing to be worried about if you are Krapyvtsov.
As for Chelsea, it remains to be seen how they handle the goalkeeping situation. There have been conflicting reports when it comes to a future move for Maignan. But it seems pretty clear that Penders is someone who they have high hopes for.