Chelsea have completed the signing of goalkeeper Robert Sanchez from Brighton.
After searching for a new goalkeeper to compete with Kepa Arrizabalaga, the Blues settled on Sanchez and quickly agreed a fee for the 25-year-old which sits around the £20m mark.
Having passed his medical, Sanchez has put pen to paper on a seven-year contract to become Chelsea’s seventh signing of the summer.
“We’re very pleased to welcome Robert to Chelsea and he adds further quality to our goalkeeping unit,” said sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, the latter of whom also joined from Brighton last summer.
“Robert has repeatedly proved himself in the Premier League and been capped by his country. We are excited to watch him work with Mauricio and his coaching team during the season ahead.”
Sanchez worked closely with Chelsea goalkeeping chief Ben Roberts, who was a coach under Graham Potter at both Brighton and Chelsea before being promoted to a more senior role at Stamford Bridge this summer.
Chelsea’s current lead goalkeeping coach is Toni Jimenez, who joined as part of Mauricio Pochettino’s backroom staff.
Sanchez leaves Brighton with 87 Premier League appearances to his name and it is that experience in England which has helped endear him to Chelsea’s recruitment team, who wanted an experience name to compete with Arrizabalaga.
Thanks to his time in the Brighton academy, Sanchez also counts as a homegrown player in the Premier League, which comes as a boost to a Chelsea squad which has already bid farewell to Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek this summer.