Questions are mounting over Chelsea’s late-window goalkeeping shake-up, with early statistics suggesting Emiliano Martinez has not provided the defensive rescue Xabi Alonso envisioned when replacing Robert Sanchez.

The transition began swiftly after Sanchez started Chelsea’s 3-2 win over Fulham on August 24, making four saves but being faulted for an error leading to a goal.

Alonso moved decisively, bringing in Martinez from Aston Villa for around £7.5 million to inject World Cup-winning steel, presence and leadership.

Four starts later, the numbers do not look like a rescue. Martinez has conceded ten goals without a single clean sheet across a 4-3 win over Brighton, a 2-1 loss at Arsenal, a 2-2 draw with Hull and a 3-0 defeat at Brentford.

Chelsea have now conceded a division-worst 12 goals in five matches, leading pundits to conclude the defensive leaking is a systemic issue rather than an individual failure.

The upgrade case rests almost entirely on Arsenal. Martinez made eight saves and earned a high rating despite defeat.

Everywhere else the scoreboard has been ugly. Brighton was a shootout. Hull was sloppy. Brentford was a collapse, with Jaidon Anthony’s opener coming from a corner Martinez did not attack.

Tension inside the squad became visible during the Brentford defeat when Jordan Henderson, on a difficult night back at his old club, turned on Martinez immediately after the opening goal and made his anger obvious on camera.

The second and third goals completed a 3-0 scoreline no one could pin on one man. The clearest verdict came from inside the team: the new number one is still being asked the same questions Sanchez used to hear.

Last season, Sanchez played 35 league games and kept nine clean sheets. He could produce a world-class stop and a howler in the same month, which is why Alonso moved. But Martinez was sold as presence, and presence has not produced a clean sheet yet.

The honest reading is that Chelsea’s defence is leaking under both keepers. Martinez has not been cleaner than the man he replaced.

According to fan reactions, supporters are fiercely defending the new number one. One fan, posting under the name Paul Gold, firmly stated that Martinez has been better than Robert Sanchez in every aspect since arriving.

He argued that the goalkeeper’s only issue at Chelsea is a useless defense that cannot protect itself, insisting that the blame should not fall on a world-class, experienced keeper.

This sentiment is widely shared across the fanbase, with many shifting the spotlight directly onto Chelsea’s central defensive pairing.

Another supporter, active under the username mattieboy, questioned what anyone could realistically expect Martinez to achieve when relying on Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill to protect him.

Is Chelsea’s defence the real problem?