Chelsea keen to retain goalkeeping coach Ben Roberts
Chelsea are in talks to retain Ben Roberts on a long-term deal. He was a member of former boss Graham Potter’s backroom staff at Stamford Bridge.
Nevertheless, despite Potter’s dismissal, (h/t Daily Mail) he is still the Blues goalkeeping coach under interim manager Frank Lampard. And despite Mauricio Pochettino set to take over, the Blues rate the 47-year-old coach highly and are keen to retain his services.
Pochettino is set to take charge of Chelsea ahead of next season and will bring his own staff, with Toni Jimenez as goalkeeping coach. However, Chelsea considers Roberts to be important enough to retain.
Roberts, who spent 17 years in playing and coaching positions for Yeovil, Charlton, and Brighton before joining Chelsea, is among the most renowned goalkeeping instructors in European football. Some goalkeepers, including Nick Pope, Jason Steele, Robert Sanchez, and Tim Krul, have benefited greatly from his assistance.
With Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy’s futures at Chelsea unknown, Chelsea are also seeking to bring in a goalie for the upcoming campaign. And Roberts’ advice on who they should bring in could help the Blues sign a quality shot-stopper.
Given that Roberts has coached goalkeepers like Pope, Sanchez, and Krul, he is undoubtedly a great goalkeeping coach. However, from what we have seen, Kepa has received minimal assistance from Roberts since the Spanish goalkeeper has struggled in goal.
Pochettino wants to introduce his own goalkeeping coach Toni Jimenez, with whom he has worked previously since Jimenez joined Espanyol.
Therefore, there can be disagreements in decision-making, and to be really honest, the Chelsea board should give the manager autonomy over these decisions because the Argentine coach should work with the tools he needs and not what others think he needs.
