Chelsea ‘in talks’ to let transfer record breaker leave for Prem minnows, with one deal required first
Chelsea are reportedly in talks to let Kepa Arrizabalaga leave on loan for Bournemouth, where he is the ‘top target’, after extending his contract at Stamford Bridge.
Kepa spent last season out on loan at Real Madrid, where he deputised for the injured Thibaut Courtois, formerly of Chelsea. His spell in Spain was not the most successful, though, as Andriy Lunin took Kepa’s place after he had sustained a short-term injury, and the Ukrainian largely kept him out of the side beyond then.
Now back at Chelsea, the keeper is down the pecking order, with Enzo Maresca confirming Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen are likely to be the starters.
And as a result, Kepa could be allowed to go to Bournemouth, with insider David Ornstein confirming to the Athletic that the Cherries are ‘working on a deal’ to sign the Spaniard on loan.
It’s said they are ‘in talks’ with both Chelsea and the goalkeeper, who is said to have been identified as the club’s ‘top target’.
Before any loan is possible, the Blues will look to extend Kepa’s contract, as it currently runs out next summer, which means if he was to be sent on loan now, he’d be able to leave permanently at the end of the season.
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Chelsea, of course, do not want to let another club have the last look at their expensive asset before he’s able to walk away for nothing. That would be a huge waste of the £72million they spent to sign him in 2018.
But six years on from becoming the most expensive goalkeeper in history, a move to Bournemouth, who finished 12th in the Premier League last season and have never spent more than £41million on a player, is a big step down.
The keeper would have expected he’d have been Chelsea’s No.1 for years after making the enormous move from Athletic Bilbao, but that is a title he’s not held in three of his six seasons as a Blues player.
