"It’s something systemically wrong" - Joe Cole highlights the biggest mistake Chelsea have made in transfers under new owners

Joe Cole has questioned Chelsea's transfer plans with goalkeepers as he is not impressed with Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen. The former Blues star believes that the number of keepers on the club's books is too many and hinted that the best ones are out on loan.

Speaking on The Dressing Room podcast, Coel hinted that Kepa Arrizabalaga and Djorge Petrovic are the best goalkeepers on Chelsea's books. He claimed that the club have made too many mistakes with the goalkeepers.

Coel said via Metro:

"It’s something systemically wrong because you can’t have nine goalkeepers on your books and not know which one is your number one. You’ve got Kepa [Arrizabalaga] out on loan, Petrovic out on loan, you’ve bought some young, promising ones. If your system works well, you shouldn’t make as many mistakes that have been made with goalkeepers."

Joe Cole went on to state that Matz Sels is one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League. The Belgian was sold by BlueCo from Strasbroug to Nottingham Forest. He said via Metro:

"Do you know who I think is one of the best goalkeepers in the league at the moment? Sels from [Nottingham] Forest. Mate, I’m telling you. Watch him play. Assured, makes saves… I don’t know whether he’s having a golden period in his time but they are out there. You’ve just got to pick the right one."

Chelsea have kept just five clean sheets in the Premier League this season – 13th in the league joint with Brentford, West Ham United, and Wolverhampton.

Former Chelsea striker claims they have not had a good goalkeeper since 2018

Carlton Cole was also on The Dressing Room podcast and stated that Chelsea have not had a good goalkeeper at the club since Thibaut Courtois left for Real Madrid. He believes that Edouard Mendy and Kepa Arrizabalaga were not top players and said via Metro:

"Since Courtois it hasn’t been the same. They’ve not had a settled goalkeeper. They’ve tried [Edouard] Mendy, Kepa came and he’s arguing with the gaffer in the League Cup final! There has been no law and order there. They need to get some kind of form of goalkeepers. There’s loads of goalkeepers, go into Europe. They might not be in the top leagues but just try and source it out."

Chelsea loaned out Djorde Petrovic to Strasbourg this season despite the goalkeeper displacing Robert Sanchez in goal last season.

About the author

Sripad is a veteran Sportskeeda football journalist who has been with the company for around 10 years. His tryst with writing happened in class XI when he started penning blogs, and his foray into football was during the early 2000s, watching matches with his cousins.

Sripad has been a Chelsea fan through and through since the age of 9 and can watch their 2012 Champions League triumph on repeat. The undisputed ‘GOAT’ according to him is Lionel Messi and his favorite managers are Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson. Apart from popular European leagues, he also likes to follow other leagues like the MLS, Saudi Pro League, Eredivisie, and Liga MX.

Sripad believes in only using the right sources for his articles, and is an expert in understanding how to get the right quotes for each news to provide proper background information. His exploits have led him to become a popular figure in European Football and interviewing Premier League legends such as Alan Shearer, Shay Given, Paul Dickov, and John Barnes. His articles have been much revered amongst the football fraternity and have been shared by the likes of John Terry, Gary Lineker, and Declan Rice.

If given a chance to change a football rule, Sripad wants VAR to be fully automated and offside rules to be less stringent. When not working, he likes to watch past Formula 1 races and play FIFA.

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Edited by Ankush Das