Neville and Carragher urge Chelsea to sign new goalkeeper after Sanchez errors in Fulham win

Chelsea began their Premier League campaign with a 3-2 win over Fulham on Monday night, but goalkeeper Robert Sanchez’s two high-profile errors overshadowed the victory and drew immediate calls from pundits for Xabi Alonso to address the position before the transfer window closes on September 1.

Sanchez allowed Josh King’s effort to beat him at the near post before pushing a second shot directly into the path of Gonzalo Garcia, who headed in Fulham’s second goal. The 28-year-old Spaniard has made 112 appearances for Chelsea since his £20 million move from Brighton in 2023, but his error-prone displays have continued to raise questions about his suitability as the club’s number one.

Jamie Carragher was direct in his assessment after the match. “There were things to really like,” he said. “On paper, that front three is sensational. It really is. I think Joao Pedro is fantastic. Rogers’ first game, what a start. But when you think of him, Palmer and Pedro — that’s as good as anything in the Premier League right now. But I do think there are concerns defensively. They have to sort the goalkeeper issue out because it’s going to come back to haunt them this season, as it did tonight.”

Gary Neville echoed those concerns and pointed to Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez as a potential solution. “They’ve added experienced players in centre back, centre midfield and centre forward,” Neville said. “I don’t know if Emi Martinez is available or not, but someone like that needs to come in at Chelsea, because that will undermine everything they do. The positives for Fulham came from the encouragement Sanchez gave them with the goals. The goals were both mistakes. It’s a problem.”

Martinez’s future at Villa Park has become uncertain after the club signed Japan international Zion Suzuki from Parma for around £30 million. The Argentine had been linked with a move to Juventus and was left out of Villa’s squad for their opening-day defeat by Brighton.

Villa manager Unai Emery confirmed that Martinez had expressed a desire to seek a new challenge. “Martinez transmitted to us the possibility to have another challenge in his career,” Emery said. “Even last year, he was thinking in case he can have one possibility to change for his challenges. He didn’t do it last year and he performed fantastic with us. This year, again, he transmitted us the possibility to have another challenge and we decided to sign Suzuki because I think he’s a fantastic goalkeeper.”

Despite the defensive concerns, Chelsea’s attacking options impressed on their opening night. Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers — making his debut — and summer signing Joao Pedro combined to give Alonso’s side a front three that Carragher described as among the best in the division. Whether that firepower can compensate for continued uncertainty in goal remains the defining question of Chelsea’s window.