Chelsea plotting £58m transfer move to upgrade first-team regular

Chelsea are plotting a move for Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, with doubts growing over Robert Sanchez’s place as the club’s long-term No.1.

Sanchez fought off competition from Dorde Petrovic last term to establish himself as Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper, with the latter sent on a season-long loan to Strasbourg.

And while Chelsea wrapped up a £20million deal for Villarreal’s Filip Jorgensen, Sanchez has held onto his spot between the sticks, starting all but one of the Blues’ Premier League matches this season.

However, Sanchez has made a number of costly mistakes across his stay at Stamford Bridge and there is mounting speculation that the west London giants are actively looking to upgrade the error-prone Spaniard.

According to German publication BILD, Dortmund will struggle to keep hold of Kobel next summer should they fail to secure Champions League qualification – and Chelsea have expressed an interest in signing the Switzerland international.

Just a year ago, Kobel put pen to paper on a contract extension with Dortmund until 2028, underlining his desire to win major trophies at the time.

But BVB went on to finish fifth in the Bundesliga last season, 27 points adrift of champions Bayer Leverkusen. and it’s understood Kobel has grown increasingly frustrated with the club’s lack of silverware.

The report claims Chelsea would be prepared to pay a fee of between €70m-80m (£58-66m) to lure the 27-year-old Swiss away from Germany.

Kobel has made 136 appearances in all competitions since joining Dortmund from Stuttgart back in 2021, while twice being named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season.

The imposing 6 ft 5 in shot-stopper recently became Switzerland’s first-choice after Yann Sommer announced his retirement from international football.

Jamie Carragher has been an outspoken critic of Sanchez this season, insisting the goalkeepr must be replaced if Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea are to ‘get back to where they want to be’ back in October.

On the latest episode of The Overlap, the ex-Liverpool and England defender launched another attack, saying he simply could not imagine the Spain international lifting the Premier League trophy.

‘When I think of teams who win the title, the goalkeeper is such a big thing,’ Carragher said.

‘At Liverpool, the teams I played in, we never had a ‘keeper who was on the level of Peter Schmeichel, Edwin van der Sar or Petr Cech.

‘Liverpool got Alisson and they won the league. That’s my thing.

‘Chelsea have been so impressive this season. I just can’t imagine the goalkeeper lifting [the Premier League trophy].’

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