After making some key mistakes against Manchester City in Chelsea’s Premier League clash with them on January 25th, keeper Robert Sanchez has appeared to have lost his hold on the starting role. He was dropped in favor of Filip Jorgenson and the young Danish keeper did well against West Ham in a key victory that saw Chelsea jump back into the top four.
Sanchez’s teammate Marc Cucurella spoke to AS about the situation and he acknowledged how difficult of a situation that the keeper is in but he backed him to be ready when the time comes.
Cucurella told AS, as translated by Sport Witness:
"“In the end it’s difficult. I think it’s also important for him to work and be a little bit out of the spotlight. All the players who have come here have had hard times. The important thing is that he’s well, that he works hard, because I’m sure he’ll get his chance again and, when he does, he’ll be ready.”"
" “I’ve told him to be calm, that it’s happened to everyone. The most important thing is that he works and keeps training even harder. You have to work hard to turn the situation around. I’ve known him since Brighton, we are great friends, and he knows he has me for whatever he needs.”"Marc Cucurella
Cucurella is very familiar with Sanchez having spent time with him at Chelsea, Brighton and Hove Albion, and with the Spanish national team. They have a bond that has been built over the years and as we know the relationship between a keeper and his defenders has to be strong in order for them to succeed.
Sanchez has had his struggles at Chelsea and has become more known by the supporters for his mental errors in distribution than he is for his shot stopping which can be elite at times. He is in his second year with the Blues and was pushed last season by Djordje Petrovic but won the job over the summer when Enzo Maresca took the reins at Stamford Bridge.
Now that his struggles have become an issue again he may well lose his place to Jorgenson for good and could be looking for a new club in the summer. Cucurella knows what it’s like to lose confidence and get bumped down the pecking order but the Spanish defender came roaring back late last season and has been one of Chelsea’s best players this year.
His words may come across as empty encouragement but he is speaking from experience and knows the quality that Sanchez possesses when he is on form. Chelsea will likely need to call upon Sanchez at some point during the second half of the season so we hope he takes Cucurella’s words to heart and comes back stronger.