Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez is having a season to forget.
The Spanish shot stopper has started all 10 of the Blues' Premier League games so far, but has kept just two clean sheets and let in 12 goals.
He's also made a number of individual errors in games against Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle United, and, most recently, Manchester United.
Against the Red Devils, the 26-year-old gave away a penalty which was converted by United captain Bruno Fernandes. Fortunately, his blushes were spared by midfielder Moises Caicedo, who scored a superb volley to rescue a draw for Enzo Maresca's side.
Maresca has defended Sanchez in recent weeks, saying after the 2-1 win over Newcastle that he is "happy with how Robbie is playing and building from the back."
Should Sanchez's lacklustre performances continue, however, there will be no doubt that Chelsea will start considering their options between the sticks.
With that being said, here are three goalkeepers the Blues could replace Sanchez with.
Mads Hermansen (Leicester City)
In the summer, Chelsea completed the signing of Filip Jorgensen from Villarreal to compete with Sanchez for the number one jersey at Stamford Bridge.
The Dane, however, was not Maresca's first choice.
According to reports, Maresca would have instead preferred to have signed Jorgensen's countryman and Leicester City shot stopper Mads Hermansen, who was the Italian's first-choice keeper during his sole, promotion-winning season at the King Power Stadium.
Maresca is understood to be an admirer of Hermansen's ability to play out from the back, and his pursuit of the 24-year-old might not be over yet.
Earlier this month, journalist Ben Jacobs revealed that Hermansen would likely be allowed to leave Leicester next summer for a fee of £35 million. "The bigger fear is if Leicester go down, Hermansen would be very hard to keep," said Jacobs.
Diogo Costa (FC Porto)
FC Porto's Diogo Costa has been one of the steadiest hands in the Primeira Liga over the past three-and-half seasons, keeping 50 cleans sheets, including six in nine games this term.
However, it was a stunning performance for Portugal at this summer's European Championships that really made the world stand up and take notice. In Portugal's round of 16 match against Slovenia, Costa saved all three of the opposition's penalties in the shootout – a feat never before achieved in the tournament's 66 year history.
"This is probably the best game of my life," the Porto star said after the match. "I focused on doing what I had to do. I went with my gut feeling."
In light of that display, Chelsea made an approach to sign Costa in the summer, according to Journalist Rudy Galetti, but the 25-year-old ended up staying at the Estadio do Dragao. Late last month, Caught Offside reported that the Blues remain interested in Costa, but that Porto would demand as much as £59 million for his signature.
Djordje Petrovic (RC Strasbourg/Chelsea)
Chelsea have spent around £160 million on goalkeepers since 2018 and currently have no less than nine on their books, including Sanchez, Jorgensen, Marcus Bettinelli, and Lucas Bergstrom.
Another of those is Djordje Petrovic.
The Serbian, 25, was Chelsea's first-choice keeper last season under Mauricio Pochettino and earned plenty of plaudits for his impressive displays between the sticks. So, when he was sent out on-loan to Ligue 1 side RC Strasbourg in the summer, it surprised more than just a few Blues fans.
Some now want him back.
"I miss Petrovic at Chelsea," wrote one fan on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, after Chelsea's draw with United. Another wrote: "You can't win titles with goalkeepers like Robert Sanchez. Honestly, Petrovic is better than Sanchez and Jorgensen."
Petrovic himself also wants to come back to West London.
“That is the goal, to be number one at Chelsea, one of the best teams in the world," he said after Strasbourg's 1-0 win over Marseille back in September.
Given that Petrovic has already proved he can do the business in Blue, allowing him to return perhaps makes more sense than splashing even more cash on yet another keeper.
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