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| photo source= Suzuki SNS |
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"Chelsea is aiming for the gatekeeper of Japan's national university."
There are reports that Chelsea is eyeing the recruitment of Suzuki Zaion, the Japanese national goalkeeper who was born in 2002 to replace Robert Sanchez, the goalkeeper who has been sluggish recently.
Chelsea's main goalkeeper, Sanchez, has come under fire from fans for a series of mistakes this season. He also made a mistake in the match against Wolverhampton (3-1 win) on Monday, drawing criticism. Sanchez allowed Matt Doherty to score in the extra time of the first half due to a mistake in which the ball slipped from his hand while trying to catch a corner kick from the left by Cunha. This is the fourth fatal mistake that leads to scoring this season. 'Ipswich goalkeeper' is the league's second most disgraced record, following the fifth inning of Ariannette Murici. Soccer experts such as Jamie Carragher have even diagnosed that Chelsea will not be able to take the next step until they recruit a new goalkeeper.
Spanish media Pichahes reported on the 23rd (Korea time) that Chelsea, led by Enzo Maresca, has launched an impressive recruitment of Japanese star Suzuki in Serie A Parma this season, and not only Chelsea but also multiple prestigious European clubs are fiercely competing behind the scenes to recruit Suzuki. Chelsea is known to be showing great interest in closely monitoring Suzuki's moves using overseas scouting networks. With Chelsea seeing 22-year-old Suzuki as a key long-term resource, Pichahes currently sets his value at 40 million pounds (about 70.7 billion won).
Suzuki, a mixed-race player born to a Ghanaian American father and a Japanese mother, transferred to Sint Triden in the Belgian League in 2023 after his professional debut through Urawa Red Diamonds Youth, and wore a Parma uniform on a five-year contract worth 8.5 million pounds (about 15 billion won) in the summer transfer market last year. Suzuki, who played 16 A matches as the Japanese national team's goalkeeper, was criticized for making a series of mistakes at the 2024 Asian Cup, but has continued to grow steadily since then and played 20 games in Parma. With 65% of the league's defense rate and build-up capabilities, many experts and scouts have already named it `one of Europe's most talented young goalkeepers.' Following the rumors of Bayern Munich and Manchester United's link, rumors of a transfer to Chelsea have emerged.
Meanwhile, right after the match against Wolverhampton, Maresca openly supported Sanchez amid criticism and concerns from experts and fans toward Chelsea's main goalkeeper Sanchez. "The fourth mistake led to a goal? Then how many times did he save us?" "It's more than four times. There is no problem. Mistakes can happen to anyone, such as strikers and central defenders, so there is no problem. Sanchez is doing well. The media attention is only part of our job when we make mistakes. Sanchez saved our team several times, and mistakes can happen. There is no problem."
Reporter Jeon Young-ji sky4us@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
