Chelsea No 1 Robert Sanchez on working under Mauricio Pochettino, coping with losing his Brighton place and why a move to Stamford Bridge was the perfect tonic.
"Sometimes, things between a player, a club and a manager don't work, that's football," says Chelsea's new No 1 Robert Sanchez.
The rise, fall and rise again of one of the Premier League's most sought-after young goalkeepers has been fairly remarkable over the past 12 months.
Not so long ago Sanchez was talked about as one of the top-flight's rising stars, a giant of a man with an excellent command of his box, a strong shot stopper and comfortable with the ball at his feet. The all-round modern goalkeeper.
But a poor spell at the Amex last season, tied in closely with the ultra-prescriptive style of incoming manager Roberto De Zerbi, brought everything tumbling down. Memories are short in football and within months, after losing his place to Jason Steele in March, the 25-year-old's stock had collapsed.
The £25m offer Brighton accepted from Chelsea in August would have never been countenanced a year earlier. Bayern Munich were said to be stunned by the price tag and also sounded out a move.
Now thrust back into the spotlight under Mauricio Pochettino and surrounded by £1bn worth of players, it has given Sanchez a chance to rebuild the reputation he worked so hard to develop.
Between his first and his last Premier League appearance for Brighton, only seven goalkeepers kept more clean sheets. Only Alisson and Ederson completed more passes, and only Nick Pope and Emi Martinez made more catches.
"Sometimes, things between a player, a club and a manager don't work, that's football," says Chelsea's new No 1 Robert Sanchez.
The rise, fall and rise again of one of the Premier League's most sought-after young goalkeepers has been fairly remarkable over the past 12 months.
Not so long ago Sanchez was talked about as one of the top-flight's rising stars, a giant of a man with an excellent command of his box, a strong shot stopper and comfortable with the ball at his feet. The all-round modern goalkeeper.
But a poor spell at the Amex last season, tied in closely with the ultra-prescriptive style of incoming manager Roberto De Zerbi, brought everything tumbling down. Memories are short in football and within months, after losing his place to Jason Steele in March, the 25-year-old's stock had collapsed.
The £25m offer Brighton accepted from Chelsea in August would have never been countenanced a year earlier. Bayern Munich were said to be stunned by the price tag and also sounded out a move.
Now thrust back into the spotlight under Mauricio Pochettino and surrounded by £1bn worth of players, it has given Sanchez a chance to rebuild the reputation he worked so hard to develop.
Between his first and his last Premier League appearance for Brighton, only seven goalkeepers kept more clean sheets. Only Alisson and Ederson completed more passes, and only Nick Pope and Emi Martinez made more catches.
Sanchez's performance during his Brighton career
Those aren't the statistics of a bad goalkeeper. Others' confidence in him dropped off, but Sanchez has long talked about the sense of self-belief which first helped him oust fan favourite Mat Ryan as Brighton No 1, and has now seen him through the other side of a tough few months before his London move.
"If you don't believe in yourself, who else will?" He asks Sky Sports, half smiling, at Chelsea's Cobham training base. "I think I did well last season.
"He [De Zerbi] had a view of the team, for one reason or another he didn't count on me for the specifics of the kind of goalkeeper he wanted and decided to go with another [Jason Steele].
"He suited what he wanted to do better, and I'm happy for him, because he'd been supporting me for the two and a half years I'd been the goalkeeper and now he's got his chance."
De Zerbi hinted at similar when he first dropped Sanchez in March. Though the Italian never expanded on the details, Steele's success on the ball in his press-baiting style made it clear.
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