Regardless of form, Robert Sanchez’s spell on the sidelines is likely to be a short one

Following up an outstanding first season in the Premier League with a campaign of consistently excellent performances is one of the most difficult challenges that face modern-day top-flight footballers.

This is particularly true of goalkeepers, who face more scrutiny than the majority of outfield players due to the often isolated nature of their position. It has become increasingly rare for clubs to stick by a struggling goalkeeper now thanks to the quality and depth of reserve goalkeepers competing for the number one shirt at the majority of top-flight clubs.

Brighton & Hove Albion and Robert Sanchez know about this all too well.

Mat Ryan started all but four of Brighton’s games in their first three seasons in the Premier League (the four games he missed were due to Australia’s participation in the 2019 Asian Cup), but a poor start to the 2020/21 season saw him taken out of the team in favour of Sanchez.

By the time the January transfer window came around, Ryan had been moved on to Arsenal and Sanchez had firmly established himself in Graham Potter’s side.

His usurping of one of the Seagulls’ most consistent performers under the management of Chris Hughton capped a remarkable rise for the Spaniard given his only previous experience of first-team football had come in 43 games across League One and League Two during loan spells at Forest Green Rovers and Rochdale.

Potter’s faith in him turned out to be something of a masterstroke. His consistency between the sticks helped the Seagulls avoid any serious flirtation with the relegation zone, and arguably more importantly for this current incarnation of Brighton, his comfort in possession meant he was perfectly capable of starting attacks from his own penalty area.

Sanchez finished his first season of Premier League football with 10 clean sheets from 27 appearances and an impressive Post Shot Expected Goals minus Goals Allowed (PSxG+/-) total of +4.8, the eighth best score of any goalkeeper in the league in the 2020/21 season.

Even though Brighton have made a greater impact on the top half of the Premier League table at the start of this season, their young goalkeeper is arguably not quite hitting the high standards he set for himself in becoming established as a Premier League regular and being selected for the Spanish national team at EURO 2020.

His PSxG+/- total is down at -1.1, and a string of errors before the November international break culminated in Sanchez being sent off in the 1-1 draw against Newcastle United at the Amex Stadium on November 6th.

He is now suspended for Saturday’s trip to Aston Villa after being shown a straight red card due to some questionable positioning which left the one-cap international in no man’s land with Callum Wilson seemingly destined to score a game-winning goal.

Sanchez would have gotten away with the mistake had it not been for the intervention of VAR, but even if he had avoided the sending off against Newcastle, there have been a number of uncomfortable moments for Brighton’s number one over recent weeks.

In the goalless draw at Norwich City in the first game following the last international break, Sanchez came rushing out of his goal towards the end of the first half and collided with captain Lewis Dunk, presenting Canaries’ forward Josh Sargent with an open goal that he failed to capitalise on.

Brighton escaped unscathed on that occasion, but the following week against Manchester City they were not so fortunate.

With the score at 0-0 despite a dominant opening 13 minutes from the reigning Premier League champions, Sanchez was unable to claim a ball in his penalty area after coming under pressure from Gabriel Jesus. Bernardo Silva hooked the loose ball into the path of Ilkay Gundogan who broke the deadlock from close range.

Brighton ended up being soundly beaten by Pep Guardiola’s side at the Amex that evening, meaning Sanchez’s mistake was not scrutinised as heavily as it might have been, but another error at Anfield seven days later very nearly cost the Seagulls an opportunity to claim one of their most impressive results of the season so far.

With his side two goals down after half an hour, Brighton’s goalkeeper was caught in possession just metres away from his own goal line after some intense pressing from Sadio Mane. The goalkeeper’s attempted clearance ricocheted off the Senegalese forward and into the net to extend Liverpool’s lead and set them up for a comfortable afternoon.

However, the Spaniard’s blushes were fortunately spared by VAR as the ball had struck Mane’s arm before ending up in the goal. Brighton were then able to launch a comeback that culminated in Leandro Trossard slotting home an equaliser in front of the Kop at the end of a move that had been started by a delightful press-splitting pass from Sanchez.

Following up such a consistent first season in the top flight was always going to be difficult. Form fluctuates and with it so does the confidence of individual players. This opportunity to take a step back and remove himself from the constant pressure of playing in the Premier League could well turn out to be a good thing for the Spaniard.

“It’s the life of a goalkeeper — the life of a young goalkeeper — that you have to take some adversity at times, you have to take some challenging moments and it’s all about how you respond.

“A career isn’t built on success only. It’s built on moments where maybe confidence isn’t so high or performance so good. That’s how young players develop and grow.

“We’ll support him. We have the utmost faith and belief in him. We love him for what he’s done with us; fantastic. It’s upsetting for him at the moment but he’ll come back stronger.”

– Brighton and Hove Albion Head Coach Graham Potter

Potter has already confirmed that it will be 31-year-old Jason Steele who will take Sanchez’s place in goal in what will be Steven Gerrard’s first game as Aston Villa manager. Even though Steele has become the Seagulls’ regular cup goalkeeper, Saturday will be his top-flight debut. This undeniably proud achievement also offers him a chance to stake his claim for the number one spot on a more regular basis.

In dropping Ryan last December, Potter has shown that the status of a player within his squad will not determine whether or not they are in his team. During his solitary season at Swansea City, he regularly rotated between Swedish goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt and Dutchman Erwin Mulder, indicating the man between the sticks is by no means undroppable.

Even if Steele does pull off an array of eye-catching saves and manages to keep Villa’s expensively assembled attacking force at bay, it may actually be what he does with his feet that is the greatest indication of whether or not he can challenge the Spaniard going forward.

It is not as simple as Sanchez was playing well last season and he is now underperforming, the life of the goalkeeper is such that his mistakes can be glaring and his moments of brilliance quickly overlooked. The crucial aspect of his performances this season that will likely mean Potter stands by the 23-year-old in the long-term is that his ability to start attacking moves from his own box has not been diminished.

Sanchez has attempted more passes than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League so far this season, but his passes also have the fourth-highest ‘Progressive Distance’ (how far a completed pass has travelled towards the opponent’s goal) of any player in the league. This suggests he is not only playing short balls to his centre-backs but also accurate searching ones, the type of which set Marc Cucurella away for the equalising goal at Anfield.

Potter has shown himself to be more egalitarian than most Premier League managers ahead of what will be his 100th game in charge of Brighton at the weekend, but thinking the young goalkeeper’s place between the sticks is vulnerable after a slightly disappointing start to the season and a few high-profile errors probably does a disservice to what he is offering the team on the whole.

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