Chelsea begin negotiations for unhappy Brighton goalkeeper

The Blues are currently in the market for a new shot stopper and, according to Italian reporter Gianluca Di Marzio, have targeted the Spanish international, after he fell out of favour with Albion boss Roberto De Zerbi.

Sanchez had been the Seagulls regular number one since making his debut for the club in November 2020, but was dropped by De Zerbi for Jason Steele in March of this year.

The academy graduate was not seen in any of the last five Premier League matchday squads, something which the Brighton boss said was the 25-year-old’s decision.

De Zerbi said: “He [Sanchez] decides everything. Robert [Sanchez] decides, and at the moment, it's like this. He wanted it this way, not me, not the club.”

Both of Chelsea’s current goalkeepers – Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy – have struggled to cerement the starting role in between the sticks at Stamford Bridge.

Arrizabalaga joined the West London outfit for a world record fee of £72m from Athletic Bilbao in 2018 to replace the departing Thibaut Courtois.

However a number of glaring errors in his first two seasons led to the club replacing him with Mendy in August 2020, costing them £20m from Rennes.

Both keepers have showed vulnerabilities in the last three years leaving their futures unclear, with many expecting at least one of them to leave the capital this summer.

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Chelsea’s number one target is reportedly Inter Milan stopper Andre Onana, and that has been backed up by Di Marzio this week.

This is unlikely to be the last time Brighton and Chelsea make contact with each other this window. Having pinched left-back Marc Cucurella and manager Graham Potter last season, the Blues are also said to be interested in signing Moises Caicedo in the coming weeks.

The Albion are also pursuing the permanent signature of Levi Colwill. The young defender impressed on loan at the Amex Stadium last season and has been the subject of two bids from the Sussex side this summer (£30m and £40m), which were both rejected.