• Announcement: Robert Sánchez, Porro, Pedri, Bryan ... the surprises of Luis Enrique's last list before the European Championship

Kepa Arrizabalaga, based on substitutions, has fallen from the call-up of the Spanish team and Luis Enrique has not gone too far to look for a replacement.

From London to Brighton, on the south coast of Great Britain, where a 23-year-old and almost six-foot-long from Cartagena practically unknown in Spain has taken over the ownership of a Premier League team.

And without anyone expecting it, because Robert Sánchez was called to be the fifth goalkeeper of the 'Gaviotas' in summer, destined for a new assignment by the lower categories of English football, that loop so common in Premier clubs.

But, by surprise, the road to ownership began to clear until the start of the season as an alternative to

Mat Ryan

, that Australian who played for Valencia between 2015 and 2017, fixed under Brighton's sticks for four years, and his substitute

Jason Steele

.

Until, suddenly, in a November game against Tottenham,

Graham Potter

decided to bet on him.

Brighton fell 2-1 and Robert returned to the U23 team for a few games.

It was just a step back to gain momentum.

Since the duel against Fulham on 16 December he has been Brighton's starting goalkeeper.

His numbers speak to him.

He is currently the third goalkeeper with the fewest goals per game in the Premier, behind

Édouard Mendy

and

Ederson

, starters for Chelsea and Manchester City, respectively.

In the save rate, Robert is ninth in the championship and in the clean sheet ratio he is fifth.

So good has his performance been that in the winter market Brighton decided to let Ryan go to Arsenal on loan.

And all this with just 23 years and playing in a team that fights not to be relegated to the Championship.

England's option

His performances have not gone unnoticed by Luis Enrique, needless to say, but neither by the English team.

For several weeks, rumors have circulated that

Gareth Southgate

has tempted 'Bob' Sánchez (as they call him in the Islands) to obtain the English passport and be able to summon him, in a context in which the English goalkeepers are not standing out.

Jordan Pickford

has not recovered his extraordinary 2018 World Cup level,

Dean Henderson

is now De Gea's substitute and

Nick Pope

has never finished convincing despite his good performance at Burnley.

Either because of that threat or because of conviction in front of other applicants for the position (Guaita, Remiro, Pacheco, Aitor, Kepa himself ...), Luis Enrique has called him up.

Robert Sánchez, during a game with Brighton.

Knowing all this, the question is clear: Where did Robert Sánchez come from?

His career is completely unusual for a Spanish footballer.

Born in

Cartagena

, the son of an elevator technician and a housewife (as he himself told Onda Cero), he played as a child in clubs in his city until he caught the attention of Levante, which he joined in the children's category.

Already then, his height attracted attention, which at 23 years old reaches 197 centimeters.

And that is where his story takes an unexpected turn.

Because it is relatively common for clubs like City, Arsenal or Chelsea to go hunting for Spanish cadets, but not for Brighton to do so, at that time a second division team that had only played in the first four seasons at the beginning of the years. 80. The adolescent Robert, seduced by the interest of the 'Seagulls', left without the company of his parents and without speaking English, to see in first person what they offered him.

He was delighted.

Six years later, and recently renewed until 2025, Robert Sánchez has reached what is until now the peak of his career, with the more than real possibility of playing a European Championship in just three months.

PEDRO PORRO AND BRYAN GIL

Along with Robert, two other young footballers who no one expected (yet) in the Spanish team have crept into Luis Enrique's list.

Pedro Porro (21 years old) also bet on English football in his day, although he did so with a stopover in Girona, Manchester City's satellite club.

Born in Don Benito, he spent last year at Valladolid and is now Sporting de Portugal's right-back, the surprisingly prominent leader of the Portuguese first division.

Bryan Gil, during a match with Eibar.EFE

The transfers have also marked the career of Bryan Gil (20 years), last year at Leganés and this year at Eibar, where he is already the team's main offensive reference.

Despite the crisis that José Luis Mendilibar's team is going through, the Barbate winger is standing out because he is a different footballer, one of those who always face and look for the center to the area.

A winger who also has the ability to play on the inside and who fits perfectly into Luis Enrique's tactical scheme.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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