Chelsea have been warned they will not be Premier League title contenders this season if they persist with Robert Sanchez as their first-choice goalkeeper.<\/p>\n
Xabi Alonso\u2019s side brought their pre-season to a close with an encouraging 3-1 win over Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n
It has been another summer of turnover in west London, with Alonso taking the reins as he looks to improve upon the Blues\u2019 dismal tenth-place finish last season.<\/p>\n
The Spaniard has received the club\u2019s backing in his first transfer market, with\u00a0Morgan Rogers\u00a0arriving from\u00a0Aston Villa\u00a0for a record \u00a3117million fee along with Maxence Lacroix, Marco Palestra, Valentin Barco and Pep Chavarria.<\/p>\n
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And Chelsea have also looked to address their lack of experience within the squad by signing\u00a0Jordan Henderson\u00a0and Danny Welbeck from\u00a0Brentford\u00a0and Brighton, respectively.<\/p>\n
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Former Scotland striker Ally McCoist has already\u00a0tipped the Blues as his dark horses for this upcoming season, but ex-Arsenal striker Alan Smith is not sure Alonso\u2019s side can truly contend with Sanchez in goal.<\/p>\n
The Spaniard has never fully convinced since his \u00a325m move from Brighton in 2023, making a number of high-profile errors throughout his three seasons at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n
And speaking to Metro, Smith said of Sanchez: \u2018He\u2019s needed upgrading for a while, and it\u2019s been a bit of a glaring shortfall in their lineup.<\/p>\n
\u2018They\u2019ve made efforts to strengthen the defence with Maxence Lacroix and a couple of younger defenders he\u2019s brought in as full-backs.<\/p>\n
\u2018But the keeper, if you want to challenge for the title, Sanchez isn\u2019t the man, I don\u2019t think.<\/p>\n
\u2018They\u2019ve spent a lot of money, haven\u2019t they, Chelsea? Whether they\u2019ve got any room to spend some more on a keeper, I don\u2019t know, but Sanchez at the moment seems to be the number one.\u2019<\/p>\n
With Chelsea not tipped to contend, Smith instead thinks this season could once again be a two-horse race between defending champions Arsenal and Manchester City.<\/p>\n
\u2018I think Man City are the key challenger [to Arsenal],\u2019 he said via BestBettingSites.co.uk.<\/p>\n