Robert Lynch Sánchez (born 18 November 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Chelsea and the Spain national team.
 Sánchez with Brighton & Hove Albion in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Lynch Sánchez[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 18 November 1997[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Cartagena, Spain | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Chelsea | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Escuela de Fútbol de Santa Ana | |||||||||||||||||
| Cartagena FC | |||||||||||||||||
| Ciudad Jardín | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | Levante | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2018 | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2023 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 87 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | → Forest Green Rovers (loan) | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | → Rochdale (loan) | 26 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Chelsea | 28 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Spain | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:31, 23 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:12, 18 November 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
editEarly life and career
editSánchez was born in Cartagena, Region of Murcia.[1] He was born to a Jamaican-English father and Spanish mother.[3] He spent his early career playing locally with Escuela de Fútbol de Santa Ana, Cartagena FC and Ciudad Jardín[4] before joining Levante in 2010.[5]
Brighton & Hove Albion
editSánchez moved to England to sign for Brighton & Hove Albion at the age of 15, before signing his first professional contract in June 2015.[6][7] He signed a new three-year contract with the club in April 2018.[8]
Loan spells
editIn June 2018, Sánchez moved on loan to Forest Green Rovers for the 2018–19 season.[9] He played in the opening game of the season making his debut away at Grimsby where Rovers won 4–1.[10] Sánchez was recalled by parent club Brighton in January 2019 to provide cover as Albion's Mathew Ryan was called up for Australia for the Asian Cup.[11] He made 17 appearances for Forest Green that season, all coming in the league.[10]
On 24 July 2019, Sánchez joined Rochdale on loan for the 2019–20 season.[12] He made his debut for the club in a 3–2 away win over Tranmere Rovers.[13]
Return to Brighton
editOn 1 November 2020, Sánchez made his Brighton debut, playing in a 2–1 defeat in a Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur.[14][15] On 23 February 2021, Sánchez signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with Brighton, running until June 2025.[16]
Sánchez was sent off in the 1–1 home draw against Newcastle United on 6 November, in Brighton's eleventh match of the 2021–22 season, for fouling Callum Wilson who was within a goalscoring opportunity.[17] He kept a clean sheet in the 4–0 win over Manchester United on 7 May 2022, helping Brighton earn their record top flight victory, with his long-range pass providing a crucial role in Pascal Groß's goal.[18]
In the second half of the 2022–23 season Sánchez lost his number one spot to long standing back-up keeper Jason Steele, with Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi saying that "he is sad for Robert" and that he has "one of the best relationships" with the player.[19] He was selected to play instead of Steele on 19 March, keeping a clean sheet in the 5–0 FA Cup quarter-final win over League Two side Grimsby at Falmer Stadium.[20] On 15 April, with Steele injured, Sánchez played against Chelsea in a 2–1 away win.[21] Eight days later he retained his place, keeping a clean sheet against Manchester United in 120 minutes of play in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, but failing to save a penalty in the eventual shootout loss.[22]
Chelsea
editOn 3 August 2023, it was reported that Brighton had agreed a transfer fee, with fellow Premier League club Chelsea, worth an initial £20 million, plus £5 million in add-ons, for Sánchez.[23][24] The transfer was completed on 5 August, with the player signing a seven-year contract.[25][26] On 8 August, Chelsea confirmed that he would wear the vacant number 31 shirt for the upcoming 2023–24 season.[27] On 13 August, he made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against Liverpool in the Premier League.[28] Following Kepa Arrizabalaga's loan move to Real Madrid, on 17 August, Sánchez opted to switch his shirt number to no.1.[29]
In October 2023, he was described by Karen Bardsley as possibly "Chelsea’s smartest signing" due to "the positive effect he's had on a team which is in transition".[30]
International career
editSánchez was born in Spain to an English father and Spanish mother.[31] Sánchez received his first call-up to the Spanish national team in March 2021, for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Greece, Georgia and Kosovo.[32]
He was selected to the Spain squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament in May 2021.[33] Sánchez and David de Gea remained as understudies to Unai Simón and did not make an appearance as Spain were knocked out on penalties against Italy in the semi-final at Wembley Stadium on 6 July.[34]
He made his international debut on 5 September 2021, replacing Simón in the second half of a World Cup qualifier 4–0 win against Georgia in Badajoz.[35]
Sánchez was part of Spain's 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals squad in October.[36] He remained as back-up and did not make an appearance in either of the semi-final victory over Italy or the final loss against France as Spain finished as runners-up.[37][38]
On 11 November 2022, Sánchez was named in Spain's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[39]
Style of play
editSánchez has said that he modelled himself on Spanish goalkeepers Iker Casillas and David de Gea.[7]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 23 November 2024
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion U21 | 2016–17[40] | — | — | — | 3[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 2017–18[41] | — | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Total | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2018–19[10] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20[42] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2020–21[43] | Premier League | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 27 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22[44] | Premier League | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 38 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23[45] | Premier League | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | ||
| Total | 87 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90 | 0 | ||
| Forest Green Rovers (loan) | 2018–19[10] | League Two | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| Rochdale (loan) | 2019–20[42] | League One | 26 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| Chelsea | 2023–24[46] | Premier League | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 21 | 0 | |
| 2024–25[47] | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Total | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 158 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 180 | 0 | ||
- ^ a b Appearances in EFL Trophy
International
edit- As of match played 18 November 2024[48]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
Honours
editChelsea
Spain
- UEFA Nations League runner-up: 2020–21[38]
Individual
References
edit- ^ a b "Robert Sánchez: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Robert Sánchez: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
- ^ "Robert Sanchez - What is the deal?" – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ Serrano, Rubén (2 November 2020). "El cartagenero Robert Sánchez debuta en la Premier League inglesa" [Cartagena's Robert Sánchez debuts in the English Premier League]. La Verdad (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 March 2022.
- ^ "Robert Sánchez, de las categorías inferiores del Levante a la selección". ElDesmarque Valencia. 15 March 2021.
- ^ "Profile". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
- ^ a b Andy Naylor (12 July 2017). "Revealed: Everything you need to know about Brighton and Hove Albion's new kid on the block Robert Sanchez". The Argus. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
- ^ Andy Naylor (20 April 2018). "Albion keeper Robert Sanchez signs new contract". The Argus. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
- ^ "Robert Sanchez: Forest Green Rovers sign Brighton goalkeeper on loan". BBC Sport. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Games played by Robert Sánchez in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
- ^ "Robert Sánchez returns to Brighton". Forest Green Rovers F.C. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
- ^ "Robert Sanchez: Rochdale sign Brighton goalkeeper on loan". BBC Sport. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- ^ "Tranmere 2–3 Rochdale". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- ^ "Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 Brighton & Hove Albion: Gareth Bale scores his first goal since re–joining Spurs". BBC Sport. 1 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
- ^ "Sanchez says he only had 'good nerves' before Premier League debut". The Argus.
- ^ "Sanchez signs new Brighton deal until June 2025". Sky Sports. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- ^ "Brighton & Hove Albion 1–1 Newcastle United: Magpies fight back to draw as Eddie Howe watches from the stands". BBC Sport. 6 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ "Brighton 4-0 Manchester United: Big defeat ends United's Champions League hopes". BBC Sport. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Jason Steele: From Sunderland Till I Die to Brighton's charge for Europe". 90 min. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ "Wembley next as Albion cruise into FA Cup semi-finals". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 19 March 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ^ "Albion's super subs get European push back on track". Brighton & Hove Albion. 15 April 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ^ "It's Wembley heartbreak as Albion are beaten on penalties". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ "Chelsea agree £25m deal for Brighton keeper Sanchez" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Chelsea agree deal to sign Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sánchez" – via The Guardian.
- ^ "Sanchez seals Blues switch". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Robert Sanchez joins Chelsea". www.brightonandhovealbion.com. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Chelsea squad numbers confirmed for 2023/24 season". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ^ "Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool: Mauricio Pochettino's side fight back to draw his first Premier League game in charge". 13 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "Sanchez moves squad number". www.chelseafc.com. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
- ^ "Why Sanchez could be Chelsea's smartest signing" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Cádiz CF: Robert Sánchez, el flamante portero que empezó de la mano de Jorge Cordero". La Voz Digital (in Spanish). 24 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ "Sanchez named in Spain squad". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ "Sergio Ramos left out of Spain's Euro 2020 squad". The Independent. 24 May 2021.
- ^ "Euro 2020: Italy beat Spain on penalties to reach final – BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 7 July 2021.
- ^ "Robert Sánchez debuta con España". Mundo Deportivo. 5 September 2021.
- ^ "Albion players in international action". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ "Italy 1–2 Spain: La Roja end Azzurri's long unbeaten run to reach Nations League final". BBC Sport. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ a b "France beat Spain to become second Nations League winners". BBC Sport. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ "World Cup 2022: Laporte and Rodri in squad but Thiago and De Gea miss out". BBC Sport. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
- ^ "Games played by Robert Sánchez in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
- ^ "Games played by Robert Sánchez in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Games played by Robert Sánchez in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
- ^ "Games played by Robert Sánchez in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
- ^ "Games played by Robert Sánchez in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
- ^ "Games played by Robert Sánchez in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
- ^ "Games played by Robert Sánchez in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ "Games played by Robert Sánchez in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- ^ "Robert Sánchez". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
- ^ McNulty, Phil (25 February 2024). "Carabao Cup final: Chelsea 0–1 Liverpool (aet)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
- ^ "Sanchez claims Castrol Save of the Month award". Premier League. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ^ "Sanchez wins Premier League Save of the Month award". Premier League. 8 November 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
External links
edit
- Profile at the Chelsea F.C. website
- Robert Sánchez – UEFA competition record (archive)
