Signing a new goalkeeper might be viewed as important by Xabi Alonso. Robert Sanchez has been the club’s number since joining in 2023. The Spaniard is one of the most polarising players in the team though. On his day, he is world-class and one of the best in the Premier League. But then, it does not take much for that to change.
Sanchez has always been an error-prone goalkeeper. But a bigger issue is the effect they seem to have on him. The Spaniard’s game seems to rely heavily on confidence. One bad performance can easily snowball into a run of bad form. We have seen that time and again.
The 25/26 season was the perfect example of this. He was phenomenal in the first few months of the campaign and even won the PFA Fans’ Player of the Month for November. But soon afterwards, his form took a downturn and he even lost his place in the starting XI. If Chelsea want to compete for major trophies, they need someone more consistent and reliable.
As a result, they have been linked with the likes of Mike Maignan and Mile Svilar in recent days. Now, another name seems to have entered the rumour mill. That is Noah Atubolu, even though he does not seem like the number one target. According to Sport Bild:
Changes could occur at Liverpool, Chelsea, and Aston Villa. So far, however, the Freiburg goalkeeper is not among the top options for these clubs.
Who is Noah Atubolu, the German goalkeeper linked with Chelsea?
Atubolu has been the starting goalkeeper for SC Freiburg for the last three seasons. But with his contract set to run out next summer, it looks like the club are ready to move on.
The 24-year-old has also represented Germany at multiple youth international levels. But he has not made his full debut yet and won’t be part of the World Cup squad.
Germany have produced some of the best goalkeepers in recent years. So, it is not hard to see why Chelsea might scout the Bundesliga for potential signings in that position.
Of course, there is the Alonso factor as well. The Spaniard will know the Bundesliga well from his time managing Bayer Leverkusen, and he should be aware of the abilities of Atubolu.
Would Atubolu be a good signing?
Speaking strictly based on the data, there is nothing that jumps out as extraordinary, when you look at the numbers that Atubolu has put up as SC Freiburg’s number one.
Let’s take this season’s Bundesliga campaigns into account. He has underperformed the xG that he has faced. And his save percentage is in the 30th percentile.
Yes, Atubolu does look commanding in the box and has been decent with some of his work on the ball, but he is not elite in that bracket.
He also seems to be lacking a bit of efficiency. So, it does not feel like he would be a brilliant signing for Chelsea, at least based on what he has shown so far.
