Chelsea have traditionally been blessed with world-class goalkeepers. From Peter Bonetti to Petr Cech, the club has repeatedly had elite shot-stoppers protecting its goal. But the period after Cech and Thibaut Courtois left Stamford Bridge tells a very different story.
Cech was arguably one of the best goalkeepers in world football throughout the 2000s. He finished his Chelsea career with 228 clean sheets in 494 appearances, while his 24 Premier League clean sheets in 2004/05 remain a competition record.
Courtois subsequently carried the tradition forward. After returning from his Atlético Madrid loan in 2014, he quickly became Chelsea's first-choice goalkeeper and helped the club win the Premier League.
But since Courtois' departure in 2018, Chelsea's goalkeeping position has become a revolving door.
Courtois Was the Last Great Successor to Cech
Courtois' final Premier League season at Chelsea, 2017/18, produced an impressive 15 clean sheets in 35 appearances.
The Belgian had followed Cech remarkably well. Chelsea had gone from one elite goalkeeper to another without suffering a major drop-off.
Then came the summer of 2018.
Courtois left for Real Madrid, and Chelsea needed a replacement.
Kepa: The £71.6 Million Disaster
Chelsea responded by signing Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Club for a world-record £71.6 million goalkeeper fee.
The expectation was obvious: Chelsea believed they had found the goalkeeper who could dominate their goal for years.
Initially, there were encouraging signs.
Kepa played 36 Premier League games in 2018/19 and kept 14 clean sheets, conceding 39 goals. He also helped Chelsea win the Europa League, making 54 appearances across all competitions that season.
But the trajectory quickly turned downward.
In 2019/20, Kepa's Premier League numbers fell dramatically. He still played 33 games, but his clean sheets dropped from 14 to just eight, while he conceded 47 goals.
The following season, his role effectively collapsed. Kepa made only seven Premier League appearances, as Chelsea turned to a new goalkeeper.
For a player who had cost a world-record fee, it was an extraordinary decline.
Edouard Mendy: The Exception
Interestingly, Chelsea briefly appeared to solve the problem with Edouard Mendy.
Signed from Rennes in 2020, Mendy immediately transformed the situation. He kept 16 Premier League clean sheets in his debut campaign while also playing a crucial role in Chelsea's Champions League triumph.
His Champions League campaign was particularly spectacular: Mendy recorded nine clean sheets in 12 matches, a record for a goalkeeper in his debut season in the competition. He was subsequently named UEFA Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season and finished second in the Yashin Trophy voting.
The 2021/22 season was also strong, with Mendy recording 14 Premier League clean sheets in the supplied data.
But his Chelsea career surprisingly lasted only three seasons. Mendy eventually left for Al-Ahli in 2023 after making 105 appearances for the Blues and keeping 49 clean sheets.
Mendy was therefore the high point of Chelsea's post-Courtois goalkeeping era, but even he could not establish long-term stability.
Kepa Gets Another Chance — Before Leaving
With Mendy declining, Kepa briefly regained the starting position.
In 2022/23, he played 29 Premier League matches and kept nine clean sheets, conceding 33 goals. The improvement was noticeable, but it was nowhere near what Chelsea had originally expected from their record signing.
Kepa eventually left Chelsea after six seasons, after he had made over 163 appearances for the Blues.
The £71.6 million goalkeeper had gone from being Chelsea's future to a player the club ultimately needed to move on.
Petrovic and Sanchez: Another Uncertain Era
Chelsea's next solution was to rotate between Robert Sanchez and Djordje Petrovic.
Petrovic enjoyed a respectable 2023/24 campaign, making 31 appearances in all competitions, according to Chelsea's own season review.
The supplied Premier League figures show him making 23 league appearances, with five clean sheets and 38 goals conceded.
Sanchez, meanwhile, played 16 Premier League games.
Rather than having an undisputed elite No. 1, Chelsea once again had uncertainty.
Petrovic was subsequently moved on, while Sanchez became the primary goalkeeper.
Robert Sanchez Has Been Another Rollercoaster
Sanchez's Chelsea career has been perhaps the perfect representation of the club's goalkeeping problem.
In 2024/25, he made 32 Premier League appearances, keeping 10 clean sheets and conceding 34 goals, according to the supplied data.
The following season, his playing time increased to 35 league appearances, but he conceded 47 goals despite again recording 10 clean sheets.
The 2025/26 campaign highlighted some moments of brilliance from the player. Sanchez made 50 appearances in all competitions, kept 15 clean sheets and even won the PFA Fans' Player of the Month award for November.
So Sanchez isn't simply an absolutely bad goalkeeper. His Chelsea career has instead been remarkably inconsistent, with numerous silly mistakes.
Filip Jorgensen Hasn't Solved It Either
Filip Jorgensen was another attempt to find a long-term solution.
However, his first Chelsea season produced just five Premier League appearances, while he made 12 appearances across all competitions in 2025/26 and recorded only one clean sheet.
That has left Chelsea still searching for the stability they once took for granted.
Emiliano Martinez: Can He Finally End the Cycle?
Chelsea's latest major move has been the signing of Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa in 2026.
The Argentine arrives with a vastly different résumé to many of Chelsea's recent goalkeeping options, including a World Cup winner's medal and two Copa América titles. Chelsea signed him for a reported £7.5 million, with Martinez expected to compete with Sanchez for the starting position.
However, the 2026/27 season for him has begun in a shaky manner, with four Premier League appearances and zero clean sheets for Martinez.
It is far too early to judge him, but the pressure will be enormous.
Final Verdict
The contrast is staggering.
Chelsea went from Cech to Courtois, two goalkeepers who were genuinely among the world's elite, to a succession of Kepa, Mendy, Sanchez, Petrovic, Jorgensen and now Martinez.
There have been genuine highs, particularly Mendy's Champions League-winning 2020/21 campaign and some excellent spells from Kepa and Sanchez. But there has been no sustained successor to Cech or Courtois.
Perhaps the most shocking part is that Chelsea spent a world-record £71.6 million on Kepa hoping to end the search, only for his career at Stamford Bridge to become one of the club's most expensive goalkeeping disappointments.
For a club that once seemed incapable of getting its No. 1 choice wrong, Chelsea's post-Courtois goalkeeping saga has been nothing short of a debacle.