Chelsea are considering selling shot-stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga at the end of the campaign and replacing him with Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope. The Spanish shot-stopper has failed to live up to his £71m price tag with a string of underwhelming performances this campaign under the management of Frank Lampard.
Kepa arrived at London club from Athletic Bilbao in the summer of 2018 for the huge transfer fee and after a solid first campaign has been below-par this season. Chelsea are now looking to cut their losses on Kepa and reinvest in a new number one.
The Blues are at the preliminary stages of finding a replacement, with scouts compiling reports on possible signings, but England international is a name that has come up in early discussions.
Nick is reasonably inexperienced in the PL, having played only 58 games for Burnley in the top flight, but did enough to make the 2018 World Cup squad, although has not had a fantastic campaign so far with the Clarets struggling.
Pope would be a significantly cheaper option than Spaniard and the Blues may see him as a comparable option which allows them to save cash to reinvest elsewhere in the squad.
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard was critical of Kepa after the 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Tuesday night, contributing little in his team’s disappointing result with ten men.
‘I know there’s a focus on him at the minute. I think that’s top-line football,’ said Lampard. ‘With his feet a couple of times today he took too long and nearly gave it away. And sometimes that can change the momentum of a game.