Chelsea have bolstered their coaching department in a bid to offer more support to under-fire goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
The Spain international has proved to be divisive figure with Blues’ fans since his £25million move from Brighton two-and-a-half years ago.
While he is capable of the most astounding reflex saves, his inability to deal with set-pieces and look comfortable in possession have regularly undermined his conventional goalkeeping excellence.
With Liam Rosenior now asking his No.1 to play out from the back more frequently, Sanchez’s flaws were brutally exposed in Sunday’s narrow 2-1 defeat against Arsenal.
The 28-year-old was relentlessly pressed by the Gunners in the opening period and he was fortunate not to gift wrap goals to Mikel Arteta’s side on at least two occasions.
Sanchez, meanwhile, was arguably at fault for both goals which came after he was caught out of position from two corners which ultimately helped decide the contest.
Rosenior has shown no indication that he is ready to lose faith in Sanchez, but the current Chelsea custodian will now receive further help on the training pitch from another former Seagulls custodian, Casper Ankegren.
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The move sees him reunited with first-team goalkeeper coach Ben Roberts and he will help train Robert Sanchez and his understudies for the remainder of the campaign.
Ankegren played 142 matches for Leeds between 2006 and 2010, as well as 77 matches for Brighton where he played a part in their promotion-winning season.
Whether or not Chelsea opt to by a new goalkeeper come the summer remains to be seen, especially with Mike Penders waiting in the wings at Rosenior’s former club Strasbourg.
Former Blues’ winger Pat Nevin, however, doesn’t believe Sanchez is the problem he is being made out to be and doubts the club would look to sign an experienced replacement such as England international Jordan Pickford.
‘Jordan Pickford does it every week,’ Nevin told talkSPORTBET Casino. ‘I watch him every game. Jordan Pickford is fantastic, even though there are great goalkeepers around, he’s my favourite.
‘Would Chelsea go for a keeper at that age? No, they wouldn’t. They just don’t do it. That’s not their model. I’d be shocked if they went that way now.
‘For Sanchez, it’s a shame though, because with a lot of the stuff such as playing out from the back, he’s getting a lot of stick. And it looked very edgy in the game against Arsenal. But he’s not doing it off his own back, he’s been told to do this.
‘So if you’re being told to do that, you’ve got to do it. You can’t really blame the keeper. You can say, ‘Right, okay, you’re not good enough to do this ball at your feet stuff,’ but you’re being asked to do it.
Should Chelsea replace Robert Sanchez?
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Yes – he's not good enough
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No – Chelsea have bigger problems
‘So, is that a question of the goalkeeper? Is that a question of the club not having bought the right person for that position? If the goalie keeps playing that way, it may well be that you have to think about Sanchez’s position. I think the rest of it is generally not bad in his game.
‘I honestly do think his saves have been pretty good. Yeah, he was slightly at fault for the second goal, but let’s be honest, how many goalkeepers can get over that mountain of players for Arsenal?
‘There are some goalkeepers who make mistakes and raise question marks every now and again, but he’s saving a lot of stuff for Chelsea as well. Do I think he’s the major problem at Chelsea? No, absolutely not.’