Chelsea came ‘very close’ to signing goalkeeper with more clean sheets than Alisson and David Raya in 24/25, they bought Robert Sanchez instead

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Chelsea almost ended up with another goalkeeper instead of Robert Sanchez in the 2023 summer transfer window.

Chelsea signed Robert Sanchez from Brighton & Hove Albion almost two years ago and he was the Blues’ first-choice shot-stopper.

However, after a series of errors, the Spaniard was dropped from Enzo Maresca‘s starting XI.

Filip Jorgensen has not impressed in goal in the Premier League either, and some Blues fans will now be wishing that the club signed their other keeper target in 2023.

• READ MORE: Enzo Maresca explains why he threatened to take Filip Jorgensen off in Chelsea’s win vs Southampton… ‘I will change you’

Chelsea almost signed Nottingham Forest’s Matz Sels

Matz Sels was on Strasbourg’s books, Chelsea’s sister club, so signing the 33-year-old would have been relatively easy.

In the end, the Blues opted not to, though they came “very close” to doing so, according to journalist Simon Phillips.

Discussing the Nottingham Forest shot-stopper on his Substack Si Phillips Talks Chelsea, he said: “SPTC sources have confirmed that Sels was very close to joining Chelsea before they moved in on Sanchez. Chelsea decided on Sanchez, and then Sels went to Nottingham Forest in the next window in the winter.”

Since replacing Sanchez in goal, Jorgensen has slipped up, making a costly mistake in his side’s 2-1 loss to Aston Villa last month. Even so, Enzo Maresca does not have any immediate plans to drop him it seems.

When Maresca was asked about Jorgensen’s clanger prior to Chelsea’s win against Southampton, he said: “He’s a little bit upset because he made a mistake, but he’s OK. If we need to change players every time they make a mistake, we need to change players game by game. Nothing has changed.”

Matz Sels has more clean sheets than David Raya and Alisson

Sels has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League this season. The Belgian has kept 11 clean sheets so far, that is more than David Raya, Alisson and every other keeper in the division.

His save percentage is not as high. In fact, it is lower than Sanchez’s, which is actually the second highest in the top flight.

Still, after all of the mistakes that the 27-year-old has made, a lot of Chelsea fans would probably still prefer Sels over him.

It is going to be interesting to see what the Blues’ goalkeeper situation looks like next term. It is already thought that Djordje Petrovic could return to Chelsea in the summer following his successful loan spell at Sels’ former club Strasbourg.