Chelsea players Kepa Arrizabalaga and Enzo Fernandez
Chelsea paid £71.6 million for Kepa Arrizabalaga in 2018, making him the most expensive goalkeeper in history. They are now reportedly willing to sell him for much less, even if it means taking a big financial hit.
The 28-year-old, who has endured a turbulent few years at Stamford Bridge, signed for Real Madrid on a season-long loan last month.
With Thibaut Courtois currently sidelined with a serious injury, Arrizabalaga is currently Carlo Ancelotti’s first-choice keeper. He has made two LaLiga appearances so far, keeping one clean sheet.
As previously reported by Footballboast, Arrizabalaga is desperate to leave Chelsea permanently. “I really hope Real Madrid will keep me at the end of the season,” Kepa confessed in an interview.
“Today is day one and I’m here on loan, but we’ll have time and we’ll see. I hope that with my effort and performances, this can happen.”
Equally, he doesn’t seem to be in Mauricio Pochettino’s plans, so the Chelsea boss would have no problem selling him at the end of the season.
It now seems that Chelsea are willing to take a huge financial hit on Arrizabalaga, as they are happy to let him go for a significantly lower fee than what they bought him for.
Chelsea name their price for Kepa
According to Spanish outlet SPORT, Real Madrid have been informed by Chelsea that they would be willing to accept a fee of €25m (approx. £21.5m). This is despite them not having an option to buy included in his loan deal.
This means that the Blues would be happy to lose £50m on the goalkeeper should the Spanish club decide to sign him at the end of the season.
The report adds, however, that Real Madrid would only be willing to spend €18m (£15.4m) on Arrizabalaga, so Chelsea may have to drop their asking price even more.
A permanent move away from Stamford Bridge would mark the end of a difficult period for Arrizabalaga.
We all remember his on-pitch falling out with Mauricio Sarri during the 2019 Carabao Cup final when he rather amusingly refused to be substituted.
He has also struggled for consistent playing time, with Edouard Mendy taking his spot between the sticks for a long period. Now, Pochettino prefers Robert Sanchez.
Arrizabalaga did, admittedly, have a bit of a resurgence last season but as mentioned, it’s clear that he isn’t in Pochettino’s plans for the future.
He has made 163 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, keeping 59 clean sheets in the process.