Maresca hints he could drop Robert Sanchez against West Ham and sends clear message to Chelsea fans | OneFootball

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca says he has not yet decided whether Robert Sanchez will keep his place in goal when the Blues take on West Ham on Monday.

Sanchez was at fault for Man City’s second goal in Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat last Sunday when he was lobbed by Erling Haaland after deciding to come off his line.

The Blues shot stopper has made five errors leading to goals this season, according to Premier League stats, which is the joint most in the top flight.

He has come in for criticism from the Chelsea fans for his performances and Maresca admits he could be dropped for the game, meaning Filip Jorgensen would play instead.

“Not yet,” Maresca responded when asked if he has decided whether Sanchez would play.

“We have two or three days. The good thing is any decision I take, I feel good because every time Filip played since we started, he has done well.

“Filip or Robert, we will see, but any decision will be okay.”

On the fans’ negative reaction towards Sanchez, Maresca added: “The only thing I can say is that we need the fans.

“We need them, the players need them, while understanding sometimes for different reasons they cannot be happy with players or with the manager in general.

“For sure, we need their support because they have to trust our direction.

“I’m the first one that if I see something I don’t like, I don’t accept that.

“They (the fans) can be happy with the way they (the players) work every day, the way they try to embrace all the situations we’ve had this season and I’m sure that at the end we’re going to be there fighting for something.”

Jorgensen has made just two Premier League appearances this season but Maresca is confident that the 22-year-old is able to step up, and says he understood that he would not be first choice after signing in the summer.

“The first time I spoke with Filip in June or July I don’t remember, I have been clear that the number one choice is Robert,” he said.

“The number one is Robert but then, because we have two good goalkeepers, we can make some different decisions. For sure it can happen.

“It doesn’t mean that Robert can make a mistake every game and he’s always going to play, but the number one choice was Robert. Then we see during the season and we’ll see on Monday.”

Maresca also confirmed there is no chance of Chelsea recalling goalkeeper Kepa from his loan at Bournemouth: “Absolutely not,” he replied.