Chelsea ended their pre-season campaign with an encouraging 3-1 victory over Real Sociedad, but former Arsenal striker Alan Smith says the club must resolve a major weakness before they can be considered genuine Premier League title contenders.
The win at Stamford Bridge was Xabi Alonso’s first appearance in front of Chelsea supporters since taking charge of the club, succeeding the previous manager. Alonso has been appointed with the task of improving a side that finished 10th in the Premier League last season.
Despite receiving substantial backing in the transfer market, Chelsea’s goalkeeping situation remains a concern for Smith. He believes the club will struggle to compete for the title if Robert Sanchez continues as their first-choice goalkeeper.
“Sanchez has needed to improve for some time, and it has become an obvious weakness in Chelsea’s team,” Smith told the Metro. “The club have made efforts to strengthen the defence by signing Maxence Lacroix and younger defenders, but if you want to compete for the league title, I do not think Sanchez is the right goalkeeper.”
Chelsea signed Sanchez from Brighton for £25m in 2023. However, the Spain international has not consistently produced convincing performances and has made several costly errors during his three seasons at the club.
Sanchez started Chelsea’s final pre-season friendly against Real Sociedad, which Alonso’s side won 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Smith also acknowledged the scale of Chelsea’s spending and questioned whether the club has room for another major investment in the position.
“Chelsea have spent a lot of money, and I do not know whether they have room to spend more on a goalkeeper, but Sanchez appears to be the first choice at the moment,” he said.
Chelsea added Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for £117m during the transfer window. The club have also recruited Maxence Lacroix, Marco Palestra, Valentin Barco and Pep Chavarria, while adding experience to the squad through the signings of Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck.
Those arrivals have led some observers to identify Chelsea as a potential dark horse for the new season. Smith, however, expects the title race to be contested by Arsenal and Manchester City, with City representing the most serious threat to the defending champions.
“I see Manchester City as Arsenal’s main rival,” Smith said. “There is a question mark because of the presence of a new manager (Maresca), but I still believe they are the only team capable of threatening them.”
Smith also backed Arsenal to win the Premier League title again.
Chelsea’s pre-season victory provided a positive start to Alonso’s time in front of the club’s home support, but the performances of Sanchez and the club’s decision over their long-term first-choice goalkeeper could remain a key issue as they attempt to move on from last season’s 10th-place finish.
