Interviews

Sanchez: Last season went better than expected for me

Keeper made 28 Premier League appearances in debut top-tier campaign.

By Charlie Hanson • 10 August 2021

By Paul Hazlewood
The goalkeeper spent the summer with the Spain national team at Euro 2020.

Robert Sanchez wants this season to be the one he plays a full campaign for Albion.

The 23-year-old made his debut in the 2-1 defeat at Tottenham in November 2020, before nailing down the number one spot a month later after a 0-0 draw with Fulham.

Now he wants to start the campaign as Albion's first choice stopper and stay there.

“I am aiming for it to be my first full season as the number one, so I am really excited. But nothing really changes, I have still got to work hard, learn from every game and try to get better.

By Paul Hazlewood
Robert Sanchez made his Premier League debut at Spurs in November.

“Last season was really good and I learned a lot, it went a lot better than I expected. I am ready to go again.

“This year I just want to concentrate game-by-game, maintain a high level of performance and keep more clean sheets than last year.”

Sanchez heads into the new season off the back of a summer with Spain, who reached the semi-finals of Euro 2020.

“It was a big opportunity and although I didn’t get minutes, to be around a group like that and go to such a big tournament was a great experience. I learned a lot and I made new friends, as well as experiencing a new style of football.”

The goalkeeper now has a greater profile on social media, mainly because of the Fantasy Premier League.

Available at just £4.5m, Sanchez is one of the hot picks ahead of the new season, but he’s not too impressed by his relatively low valuation.

“I don’t play it, but I have heard about it. It’s good that people are picking me, but I am not happy that I am so cheap – I want to be more expensive! But I am one of the most picked goalkeepers which is pretty cool.”