Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has bluntly claimed current Blues goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, “is not the goalkeeper that will win trophies” for the club.

Mikel, speaking on talkSPORT, urged the club to urgently invest in a top-level goalkeeper ahead of the 2025/26 season.

He asserts that Chelsea “can’t go into the new season with Sanchez” as their No.1 option.

The criticism follows reports that Chelsea have cooled interest in AC Milan’s Mike Maignan and are prepared to retain Sanchez, a £25 million signing from Brighton, as first choice.

“Chelsea fans can agree that we need another top goalkeeper,” Mikel said. “Sanchez is not doing it. He’s made mistakes, some costly, and while we’ve been lucky in this tournament [Club World Cup], that won’t cut it over a full season of Premier League, Champions League and domestic cups.”

Despite Sanchez recording the Premier League’s best save percentage last season, he also led the division in errors resulting in goals, a stat that Mikel says undermines any perception of reliability.

Mikel didn’t stop at the goalkeeper position. He also expressed concern about Chelsea’s defensive depth, noting that while Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana have shown promise, they cannot be solely relied upon, especially given Fofana’s persistent injury issues.

“Tosin [Adarabioyo] and Badiashile are good players but not Chelsea-level starters,” Mikel added. “We need someone of Saliba or Gabriel’s calibre to truly compete.”

Chelsea have added 19-year-old Mamadou Sarr from Strasbourg, but Mikel believes the youngster is not yet ready for the demands of top-flight English football.

Chelsea are set to face Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final on Sunday, a game that could define the club’s standards ahead of the new season.