Chelsea to battle Manchester United for Spanish goalkeeper playing in England

Chelsea and Manchester United will battle to sign Brighton keeper Robert Sanchez next summer

According to the Mirror (h/t Express), Premier League giants Chelsea and Manchester United are among the clubs monitoring Brighton and Hove Albion goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and could battle it out to sign him next summer.

Both clubs would be looking to find respective successors for their first-choice options in the goalkeeping department from next season onwards.

Chelsea manager Graham Potter is yet to decide who his number one is between Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy. A few weeks ago, the former Brighton boss, who brought Sanchez to the Amex Stadium, did mention that he is going to let football decide who his goalkeeper will be at Chelsea.

After two good seasons, Mendy had a mediocre start to this campaign. The Senegal international eventually suffered an injury that paved the way for Kepa to come and do well. While the Spaniard was in full flow delivering clean sheets, he picked up an injury in a thumping defeat against the Seagulls a couple of weeks ago.

Sanchez to Chelsea?

With regards to the contract situation, both Kepa and Mendy are having their respective deals at Stamford Bridge ending in the summer of 2025. Much more than that, it would be dependent on whether the manager wants a new player between the posts from next season onwards.

Sanchez has been a great addition to the Brighton squad. The Spain international, who is in the World Cup squad, is comfortable playing out from the back even though at times he can be risky with his passing. But, maybe instructing goalkeepers to do that would come with a risk.

The 24-year-old is very good with shot-stopping although not great at covering himself in glory in set-piece situations. He is still a young goalkeeper, so the learning process continues.

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• Graham Potter gives his verdict on Chelsea loss against Newcastle United
• David Seaman calls out Chelsea Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for going missing against Arsenal

At the moment, does Sanchez have enough to start as a first-choice keeper for Chelsea? It is maybe a bit too early for him. The Blues can do better than signing him next summer.