Successors Of Turnbull & Hilario

Backup who??

Chelsea recently released a few senior players whose contracts were up. Among them were Ross Turnbull & Henrique Hilario, two goal-keepers who constantly played second fiddle to Petr Cech for the last few seasons & were called upon action only if Cech was injured/suspended. This has left a glaring hole on the roster, which the club needs to address.
The club has a few young goal-keepers in its books, namely Thibaut Courtois, Sam Walker, Matej Delac & Jamal Blackman. It’s a tricky situation nonetheless.
Courtois has been loaned out to Atletico Madrid until the end of 2013/14 season and rightly so. In Courtois, we have a young goalie who can walk into most sides in Premier League. But Petr Cech is still at the top of his game & it will be unfair on the young Belgian to make him compete for playing time. Courtois was arguably the best keeper in La Liga last season. Atletico will be playing Champions League this season & hence provide Courtois with European exposure, which will do him a lot of good in future.
Matej Delac was on loan at Inter Zapresic and had a decent season. Unfortunately, his side got relegated. He did show flashes of the brilliance which had prompted Chelsea to sign this once highly-rated keeper. Sam Walker played for Colchester United in League One last season. Walker earned seven clean sheets in his nineteen appearances for the third tier side, thus helping them to thwart relegation. Jamal Blackman has been a regular feature in the U-21 side, having made his way through the Chelsea ranks after joining the club in 2006. He trains with the first team goalkeepers and is very adept at his position.
It is interesting to note that except Courtois, all the other goalies will be entering the last year of their contracts this season. So it is a crucial juncture not just for the players, but also the club.
Jamal Blackman should be promoted as one of the back-up keepers. He has been performing well at his level and to his credit, already made an appearance in the senior match-day squad back in 2011-12. His good fundamentals & excellent height automatically suit the position he plays. Blackman will definitely be an upgrade over Hilario. Being a regular member of the senior squad would not just help him gain experience, he’ll also get an opportunity to prove his potential at the highest level.
Chelsea has to plunge into the market to fill the other gap. Some could make the argument that either of Delac or Walker could be promoted. But Delac is yet to be proven in English football. It’d be better for the Croatian U-21, if he’s loaned out to a lower tier English club where he’ll get regular playing time. Coming to Walker, he is just not good enough, not even to hold fort in a few cup games.
In January, Chelsea had made an offer for young English talent Jack Butland who chose to sign for Stoke as he was concerned about the lack of playing time at the London club. This summer, Chelsea must bring in a keeper, preferably home-grown to complete its roster.
One of the names being thrown around is Robert Green. Green was a part of the recently relegated QPR squad and could be available for a low price. However, it is not really a good idea to release a 28 yr old with dodgy decision making for a 33 yr old with dodgy keeping.
Chelsea could take a look into the Ukrainian League. Maksym Koval of Dynamo Kyiv & Oleksiy Shevchenko of the recently relegated Metalurh Zaporhizya are two goalies who won’t cost huge sums, but will be able to hold their own. Koval is the better of the two and has recently been linked to a move abroad.
Alex Smithies, plying his trade with Huddersfield Town, is a viable option too. He is young, homegrown, inexpensive and most importantly, has been playing in League One & Championship since 2007. Smithies conceded 70 goals in 46 matches last season and will prove to be a decent back-up in the long run.
Chelsea has been linked to various players playing in different positions this summer, but the rumor-mongers haven’t been too loud about the club buying a goalkeeper. At some point of time, over the next two months, the club will most definitely decide who will be Petr Cech’s back-up & embark on its next course of action.