Transfer News: Chelsea remain confident of Kepa Arrizabalaga sale next summer
According to Goal (h/t Football.London), Chelsea remains confident about selling Kepa Arrizabalaga in the summer transfer window. That is the case despite his horror spell in the recent Carabao Cup final loss at the hands of Liverpool.
Kepa was on the receiving end of a torrid time against the Reds, having failed to save even one penalty while missing his own decisive spot-kick in the process. Thomas Tuchel had subbed him on just for the shootouts, but the move ended up being a failure at the end of the clash.
However, the Blues remain hopeful that they can part ways with the Spanish keeper at the end of this campaign. They think that there will be lots of interest in a transfer for him in the coming summer. They had tried to loan him out in the last two windows, but it eventually ended up in failure.
Summer exit for Kepa?
Kepa had a torrid time when Frank Lampard was at the managerial helm at Stamford Bridge. He had a mixed period under Maurizio Sarri as well after joining us for a world record fee of £71million. His transfer remains the highest amount paid by any club for a goalkeeper in football history.
Lampard had bought Edouard Mendy as a result, which saw the 27-year-old fall down the pecking order. Tuchel helped the latter regain his form from the days at Athletic Bilbao, but Mendy has been at a completely different level despite the changes. As such, Kepa has failed to get back his starting spot even with the improvements that he achieved.
One could say that having two quality goalkeepers protects us in a worst-case scenario as we are protected in terms of depth and quality. However, paying £170,000-a-week for a second choice keeper is not feasible when we could use that sum towards other areas. Moreover, we could also earn a solid sum through his sale even if we probably would not recuperate the amount spent for his signing.
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The West London club’s confidence about a sale could certainly hold some weight since the Daily Star recently claimed that Newcastle United, Atletico Madrid and multiple other clubs are vying to secure Kepa’s signature. That could be a sign of things to come in the summer transfer window.
Moreover, they also state that we are prepared to entertain offers of around £50million, which is touted to be reasonable. That could be a great piece of business on our part if we can finalise a deal at the end of the season. Whether that will happen or not remains to be seen.