Chelsea have tabled a "formal bid" in the hope of signing Brighton and Hove Albion goalkeeper Robert Sanchez this summer, according to reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Is Robert Sanchez leaving Brighton?

The Spain international is an academy graduate of the south coast side having carried out two loan spells at Forest Green and Rochdale only to return to get promoted to their first-team back in 2020, and during his three years in the senior fold, he’s gone on to become a regular feature.

In the Premier League last season, Roberto De Zerbi’s shot-stopper started 23 games having spent the final five top-flight matches on the sidelines through injury, and having established himself as the club’s official number one between the sticks, Todd Boehly has had his eye on him for quite some time at Stamford Bridge.

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Speaking to GiveMeSport in January, Simon Phillips, who is a reporter for the Blues, revealed that the 25-year-old was a keeper that was “high up on the list” of targets in the capital and it’s believed that chiefs were “taking a closer look” at him alongside Brentford’s David Raya, but obviously a deal failed to come to fruition at the time.

However, if the following update is to be believed, The Amex outfit are now looking to sanction a permanent exit for their first-choice which could give Mauricio Pochettino the perfect opportunity to take a second bite at the cherry and secure the club’s long-term focus, even though he still has two years remaining on his contract.

Are Chelsea signing Robert Sanchez?

Taking to Twitter, Romano revealed that Chelsea have made an opening offer for Sanchez and are in discussions with Brighton regarding a summer deal, whilst also delivering an update on their pursuit of his defensive midfield teammate Moises Caicedo. He wrote:

"Chelsea have sent formal bid for Robert Sanchez to Brighton. Negotiations are ongoing — told Sanchez has already accepted Chelsea as destination. #BHAFC Brighton hope for Sanchez to leave this summer. Chelsea and Brighton remain in talks also for Moises Caicedo."

How many clean sheets has Robert Sanchez kept?

In the 2022/23 Premier League season, Sanchez kept six clean sheets from 23 top-flight games which is a decent return having shared the gloves with Brighton’s number two Jason Steele, and Chelsea are clearly serious about signing him to make an official approach, so should they be successful in their attempt, it would be a huge boost for Pochettino.

The Seagulls’ 6 foot 6 “monster”, as dubbed by former manager Graham Potter, made 47 saves from 71 shots on target against during the previous campaign, giving him a success rate of 64.8%, via FBRef, which was higher than Edouard Mendy’s 64.1%, showing he’d be an upgrade on the goalkeeper who recently joined Al-Ahli.

Sanchez, who pockets £25k-per-week, won’t assume that he’d become number one straight away if he was to put pen to paper, but there’s no doubt that he’d be the perfect candidate to challenge Kepa for his spot heading into the start of the new campaign.