David de Gea was one of the goalkeepers I followed as a kid, being Spanish, playing for the national team, then going to England I tried to follow his path' Robert Sanchez opens up on his idol

Robert Sanchez rose from lower-league loan spells to top-level European football after joining Brighton & Hove Albion as a teenager. He gained experience on loan at Forest Green Rovers and Rochdale, then made his Premier League debut in November 2020 and became Brighton’s first-choice goalkeeper. Strong performances in early 2021, including five clean sheets in six matches, led to his first Spain call-up under Luis Enrique. The call-up brought him into training alongside David de Gea, whom he had followed as a child and tried to emulate through his own move from Levante to the Premier League. He later served as an understudy during Euro 2020 and earned a place in the 2022 World Cup squad.

"The stopper arrived on English soil as a 15-year-old in June 2015 to join Brighton & Hove Albion, with loan spells at Forest Green Rovers and Rochdale soon following. He used this time in the EFL effectively, with his Premier League debut following in November 2020 and quickly usurping incumbent Matt Ryan as the Seagulls No.1."

"This included a run of five clean sheets from six performances at the start of 2021, which was enough to convince Luis Enrique, the then-Spain boss, to bring him into the camp. Luis Enrique handed Sanchez his first Spain call-up (Image credit: Getty Images) This then gave a 23-year-old Sanchez the opportunity to train alongside his idol, David de Gea."

"I've always been a massive fan of his, Sanchez tells FourFourTwo. The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. He was one of the goalkeepers I followed as a kid, being Spanish, playing for the national team, then going to England. And this was a career path that Sanchez consciously looked to emulate, with De Gea making the move to Old Trafford as a 20-year-old in 2011."

"I tried to follow his path, he continues, referring to his own move which came about when he left Levante to try his luck in the Premier League in 2013. Sanchez would relish this first taste of the Spanish national team set-up, and served alongside De Gea as understudies to Unai Simon at the delayed Euro 2020, before making the squad for the 2022 World Cup in"

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