Xabi Alonso addresses Mike Penders’ situation with Emi Martinez joining Chelsea

The move comes at a rough time for current starter Robert Sanchez, whose erratic display and mistakes against Fulham clearly left Xabi Alonso feeling nervous.

Who gets your MOTM vote in Chelsea’s win over Luton?🤔

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Mike Penders just turned heads in his starting debut against Luton, looking calm and sharp after coming back from his Strasbourg loan.

So Alonso now faces a real selection headache with no European football to rotate.

Xabi Alonso insists Mike Penders has a role to play at Chelsea

It seems as if Chelsea will continue their season with three goalkeepers fighting for one place, as Xabi Alonso seemed to suggest that Mike Penders has a part to play.

Unless he decides to sanction a move for Robert Sanchez before the window shuts.

He said after the Luton Town win: “Talking about Mike, for sure, he will have games with more work. You could see in some moments he was under pressure and he was calm. He has security of his football. He didn’t make many saves but he’s a great prospect for the future and the present as well.”

It’s likely that Martinez will slot into the number one slot at Stamford Bridge, given his reliability and quality, but the battle for number two will be fascinating.

Valentin Barco impressed tonight, but do Chelsea still need a new midfielder this summer? And if so, who?

Enzo Fernandez reportedly asked to be left out tonight…

Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso responds to Emi Martinez question

Xabi Alonso was hesitant to speak on Emi Martinez after the win over Luton simply because he’s not a Chelsea player yet, which is understandable.

He said: “I like to talk about the players in my changing room. It’s not respectful to speak on other things.”

However, all signs point towards Chelsea signing the Argentine with a deal already agreed.