Chelsea goalkeeping coach Michele De Bernardin not only coaches Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen on how to catch and clear, dive and deny. The Enzo Maresca lookalike – don’t worry, I saw the two Italians in the same room – also occasionally works with the outfielders.

He teaches players where and when to be, perfecting their positioning so that there is always a pass available for their goalkeeper. Video sessions are held in Cobham for this specific purpose.

It is therefore vital that Chelsea have someone between their sticks with feet as sure as their hands and a brain to match. He doesn’t need to be as precise as William Tell with an arrow, but he can’t be so reckless as to shoot himself, and by extension the team, in the foot.

In practice, Sanchez and Jorgensen regularly participate in passing drills. This includes rondos – the glorified game of pig in the middle where players form a circle and pass the ball at high speed – as Chelsea attempt to perfect their goalkeepers’ technique under pressure from pressers.

However, in matches, question marks continue to be placed next to Sanchez’s passing ability and decision-making, with his own teammate Levi Colwill complaining after having the ball casually played to him at the 68th minute of the 1-1 draw against Manchester. United.

Chelsea looking to make their goalkeepers play the way Enzo Maresca wants them to

Coach Michele De Bernardin not only trains goalkeepers but also field players

Sanchez (right) is currently Chelsea’s number 1, but there are concerns about his ability to play on the ball.

Colwill conceded a throw-in because Marcus Rashford was breathing down his neck and 12 seconds later Sanchez threw himself awkwardly at Rasmus Hojlund as United won the penalty that led to their goal.

From the outside looking in, it’s hard not to conclude that if Chelsea want to become the first club to end Manchester City and Liverpool’s monopoly in the Premier League, they might need their own Ederson or Alisson. Inside, Maresca insists he has full confidence in his current setup and that in Sanchez he sees someone who can become one of the best.

The Chelsea head coach has enough goalkeeping experts in his inner circle to ask for their opinions on first-choice Sanchez and second-choice Jorgensen and, most importantly, whether they are in the right hands with either or whether they might need to look elsewhere.

There’s Willy Caballero, Hilario, Carlo Cudicini and Ross Turnbull – four men working in various capacities for the club and who know what it takes to play for them in the Premier League.

There is De Bernardin, who has 26 years of experience in goalkeeper training. There is Ben Roberts, another goalkeeping coach who Maresca insisted on staying on when he arrived from Leicester in the summer. There is James Russell, the head of goalkeeping at the academy who also assists the first team. It’s practically a GK HQ.

Hell, if Maresca wanted objective advice from the outside, he could call on a legend in Gianluigi Buffon, his goalkeeper when he was manager of Parma in the Italian Serie B a few years ago.

The Chelsea goalkeeping debate will endure for as long as the same supporters who once found great comfort in the safety of Petr Cech choke with their hearts in their mouths on match days.

Mail Sport asked Maresca last week if Jorgensen was close to taking over as first choice, something the 44-year-old Italian said was not currently under consideration. However, he warned Sánchez that as soon as he stopped trying to escape from the back, he would be fired.

Maresca (pictured) insisted Sanchez would be ruled out as soon as he stopped playing

Number 2 Filip Jorgensen has made his point during cup competitions but remains a substitute for now.

Former Blues goalkeeper Hilario knows what it takes to represent Chelsea in the Premier League

Willy Caballero (right), former Man City and Blues player, is also part of the staff.

You only have to look at last season to understand how crucial it is to his philosophy. When Maresca took over at Leicester in the summer of 2023, he signed Mads Hermansen less than a month after his arrival and the 24-year-old Dane went on to play more passes than any recorded goalkeeper in of a single championship season.

Some people associated with Leicester say Maresca wanted to bring Hermansen with him to Chelsea. They claim this is still a deal that could be made. No one at Stamford Bridge is ready to confirm this, or whether other names are being considered, with insiders insisting they are happily working with what they have.

No.1 Sanchez may be a super saver, but the 26-year-old Spaniard is frustrating fans with his feet, with some even booing during their 2-1 Premier League win over Newcastle once they tired of his flaws. The cameras failed to capture Maresca’s expression to his colleagues after the £25million signing from Brighton gave the ball away for the umpteenth time, and that was only in the first half.

Number 2 Jorgensen tried to take advantage of his opportunities in the Europa Conference League and Carabao Cup. Villarreal’s last-chance £20.7 million summer signing took place on Thursday when Noah visited Stamford Bridge. Jorgensen kept a clean sheet, although all the applause came with a caveat that he was facing a fourth-placed team in Armenia. Aged just 22, the Danish Under-21 international seems less of a handicap in his choice of passes, but he is yet to be tested in the Premier League.

Chelsea have gone through a number of goalkeepers over the years. This includes Kepa Arrizabalaga, their £71.6m signing – a world record for a goalkeeper – who is now on loan at Bournemouth, with a £5m release clause expected to become active upon completion of the season.

Chelsea insist they believe in Sanchez and have high hopes for Jorgensen, but at the moment neither have the feel of an Ederson or Alisson. This is a problem when, for Maresca, it all starts at the back.