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Who Are The 8 Goalkeepers That Chelsea Have On Their Books?
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Who Are The 8 Goalkeepers That Chelsea Have On Their Books?

01/08/24 19:51

Chelsea recently completed the signing of Villarreal goalkeeper Filip Jørgensen and he has already made his debut for the club in a pre season friendly game against Club America. His arrival makes him the eighth keeper that Chelsea have available. We’ll be having a look through all of them and seeing if he is the best option for The Blues to have between the sticks in the upcoming season.

Filip Jørgensen

The newest addition to the Chelsea squad, Filip Jørgensen has made the move from Spain to London for the sum of €24.5 million. Across Europe’s top five leagues, Jørgensen played the second most minutes out of every goalkeeper under the age of 22. Those 3,598 minutes equated to 38 matches in La Liga. Every second of those minutes played a massive part in him picking 143 saves, the most from the 23/24 season, beating out the next best keeper, Gazzaniga by 18 saves.

It is not all just saves with Jørgensen though. The Swede is excellent with the ball at his feet and that is another reason as to why Enzo Maresca is a massive fan. It’s not just the manager he has impressed, but the fans as well. He was able to keep a clean sheet in his debut earlier on today after he came on at half time. It wont be long until he is given the opportunity to start and play a full set of 90 minutes.

Robert Sánchez

Current Chelsea number 1 Robert Sánchez is the keeper that most fans across the world will recognise. He was involved in only 21 matches last season before picking up two long term injuries, seeing him miss most of the season. During the time he was playing however, he conceded 30 goals and only kept 5 clean sheets.

His lack of form could be the reason that he is no longer the starting keeper but given the fresh start of a new season and with him fully fit again, Maresca has the opportunity to test him out during Chelsea’s pre-season friendlies. Personally though, if I had just seen that the club I was at had purchased a younger and talented player in my position, I would be worried that I’m not going to be getting much game time.

Djordje Petrovic

Making the most of an injured Sánchez, Djordje Petrovic was the fill in keeper for Chelsea last year. He was bought from MLS side New England Revolution at the start of the 23/24 season for the price of €16 million. Petrovic would not have expected to get much game time when he made the move, but fate thrusted him into the starting spot. He was a part of some massive games that he could have only dreamed of years ago like the Caraboa Cup Final vs Liverpool, FA Cup Semi-Final vs Manchester City and some crucial matches in the Premier League.

His total stats by the end of the season was 31 games, 44 goals conceded and 7 clean sheets. He is a player that still has great potential but I believe that he was rushed into the starting lineup way to soon, through no fault of his own. Comparatively to Jørgensen, he is not as polished playing out from the back so Maresca will most likely use him as a back up, the role he should have had a year ago.

Nonetheless, Chelsea could also be open to selling the Croatian this summer as they can still garner a decent price for him given he is still only 24 years old and now has a decent level of Premier League experience under his belt.

Kepa Arrizabalaga

Kepa Arrizabalaga didn’t actually play for Chelsea at all last season. Instead, he was whisked away to Real Madrid in La Liga to cover for former goalkeeper of Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois. Kepa got the loan spell as Courtois suffered a cruciate ligament tear and a meniscus tear in the same season, side-lining him for a total of 274 days.

Ever since he first joined Chelsea back in 2018, the Spaniard has made 108 appearances, conceded 129 goals and only kept 35 clean sheets. That works out to be clean sheet percentage of 32.11%. Fans had already turned on him before his loan and I imagine that opinion will still be the same as they feel like he has not performed anywhere near the £72 million price tag they paid for him over the years.

Kepa’s time at Chelsea will most likely be up as he could be sold to fund other transfer targets that Chelsea have in mind, eliminating another goalkeeper off this lengthy list.

Marcus Bettinelli

Sitting as the oldest goalkeeper on this list, 32 year old Marcus Bettinelli has only played twice for Chelsea for the senior team and the Under 21s respectively. He conceded 3 times in those two games and will probably rot on the bench all season again.

In the twilight years of his career, Bettinelli should probably move to a new club where he will get game time, but he extended his contract in 2023 to make sure it expires in 2026. The most probable situation is that he will be more than happy to collect the weekly wage of £32,000.

I don’t see him every playing for Chelsea again as he would need seven other players to either become injured or depart from the club first. I would say stranger things have happened but I don’t think they have.

Lucas Bergström

21 year old Finnish goalkeeper Lucas Bergström spent the final parts of last season on loan at IF Brommapojkarna in the Swedish Allsvenskan and now he joins up with the Chelsea squad again. During his time in Sweden, he made 4 appearances and conceded a total of 7 times, only keeping 1 clean sheet.

Given his age, the best development plan for him would be either sending him out on a full season loan spell or to keep him at the club with the Under 21 squad in the Premier League 2. He should not be a realistic starting option for The Blues but the talent is there as he has made 9 international caps with the Finland U21s. Definitely one for the future, just nowhere near starting right now.

Gabriel Slonina

Football Manager fanatics will know all about American Gabriel Slonina as he is a goalkeeper with an exuberance of talent and potential. Like most of the young keepers in this list, he spent last season away from Chelsea and out on loan. Residing in Belgium, more specifically KAS Eupen, Slonina played in goal a total of 34 times with a record of 56 goals conceded and 4 clean sheets across all competitions. This might be the worst number for picking the ball out of the net compared to everyone else on the list, but with the right adjustments to his game, that number will drop considerably.

Again, I believe it is too early to rush such a young player into the senior squad but I believe he could get one ore two matches under his belt this upcoming season if he were to stay at Chelsea. The spot on the squad for third choice keeper is up for grabs if Kepa and Sánchez both leave like they are rumoured to. In my opinion, that spot is his if he works hard enough for it.

Eddie Beach

The last goalkeeper in this list is Welshman Eddie Beach. He was sent out on loan to Gateshead in the January transfer window and was selected 5 times before receiving an injury and was unable to make it back into the Gateshead team the remainder of the season. He kept 1 clean sheet and conceded 9 times in the little time he spent on the pitch.

His best chance of playing for Chelsea is to stay at the youth levels of the Under 18 Premier League or Premier League 2. The 20 year old does show promise though otherwise he would not have been selected to represent the Wales U21 team 7 times. He fits the common theme of the younger keepers in this list where any major step up could be detrimental to his career going forward.

Who is the best option going forward?

Filip Jørgensen undoubtably has to be Chelsea's number 1 keeper going forward. He is in the best form of his life after an incredible La Liga campaign and fans are already in love with him after just 45 minutes of football.

Head over to our Instagram to check out what some of the Chelsea supporters have been saying about him.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Luca Testa

Lead Writer

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