Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Filip Jorgensen has taken over as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper, replacing Robert Sanchez.
The decision comes after a series of costly mistakes from Sanchez, including one in last month’s 3-1 defeat against Manchester City.
Jorgensen, 22, was selected for Chelsea’s 2-1 Premier League victory over West Ham but was benched in favor of Sanchez for the FA Cup loss to Brighton.
However, Maresca clarified during his pre-match press conference that the young Danish goalkeeper is now his preferred option.
“The idea is not to game by game change the keeper. In this moment, the last Premier League game against West Ham that we won was Filip… the FA Cup game was Robert, but our keeper in this moment is Filip,” Maresca stated.
Chelsea, who were just two points behind league leaders Liverpool in December, have since seen a dip in form. However, the Italian coach remains confident in his team’s progress, emphasizing that they are still on course for Champions League qualification.
“I don’t think what we have done can be cancelled or can be no good, because what we have done is there,” he said.
“Unfortunately we are out of both domestic cups but our journey in the Premier League has been fantastic until today, in the Conference (League) has been fantastic until today and we’re going to try to finish in the best way we can.”
Maresca also highlighted Chelsea’s improvement compared to previous seasons, noting that the club has been consistently in the top four this year.
“I said already many times, don’t forget that in the last two years, Chelsea has never been top four and this year we spent almost our (whole) season in the top four.
“This shows you and everyone that we are in the right direction. Now we’re going to try our best to finish and to bring this club where this club belongs to be, in the Champions League.”
