‘Surprised me’: BBC pundit admits they have been stunned by £25m Chelsea player this season

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Pundit Karen Bardsley has claimed she has been surprised by the impact of Robert Sanchez since he joined Chelsea.

She told BBC Sport that looking past statistics, you can see just how impressive the Spaniard is as a goalkeeper.

There was not a great deal of excitement regarding the £25m addition of Sanchez over the summer, with it looking pretty clear he was going to be the number one straight away.

However, he has impressed instantly, after coming to the club out of favour from his former club Brighton. He was named in the September Premier League Team of the Month.

The defensive performances of the Blues have come from the core of a strong goalkeeper, and Bardsley has been full of praise for the 25-year-old.

Bardsley impressed by Sanchez

She said: “Firstly, I decided to stop looking at his numbers and take a closer look at the 25-year-old Spain international in action instead.

“What I saw surprised me. His stats alone don’t really show anything special that stands out, but what my eyes told me was very different.

“I watched back clips from his games this season before putting together this article and what stands out is that, while he is big, he is also extremely agile. So, you have a combination of a powerful goalkeeper but also one with amazing reflexes.

“His movement was also intriguing when I studied it in detail. When you break down his technique, he is very economical with his footwork and how he gets into position.”

Sanchez will certainly continue his run in the team tomorrow when the Blues return to Premier League action.

They host Arsenal this weekend, with the title-challengers likely to bring one of the biggest tests of the season to Stamford Bridge in what is looking like a very intriguing fixture.