Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga will not be heading to Saudi Arabia this summer – at least for now. The 29-year-old is out of contract next summer, and the Blues are aiming to move him on this transfer window.
Kepa spent last season on loan at Real Madrid, but lost his place to Andriy Lunin after being brought in to replace the injured Thibaut Courtois. Lunin had agreed a new long-term deal with Real Madrid, but his future is up in the air now by his own admission, with the contract not being signed. The Ukrainian is keen to be the starter, or at least compete for the role, but has so far been told that he must wait to start, with Courtois the number one.
If Lunin does move on this summer – he has just a year on his current deal left – then Real Madrid will try to sign Kepa from Chelsea, as per Marca. He is their alternative option, and the Spain international would be delighted to return, as he reiterated at various points throughout the season. He has turned down a lucrative offer from Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia in case Los Blancos do come in for him.
The Madrid daily go on to say that they do not believe Chelsea would demand much in order to allow Kepa to leave, as they would simply be content to remove his €8m salary off their books. Either way, with promising prospect Fran Gonzalez coming through, Real Madrid will not make a major investment in Courtois’ back-up.
Lunin’s agent, Jorge Mendes, is due to meet with Real Madrid imminently to discuss his future. The 25-year-old was in excellent form this season, as demonstrated by his usurping of Kepa, but his stock will have taken a hit after he was dropped by Ukraine after one game at Euro 2024. Kepa performed reasonably well last year for much of the season, save for the occasional mistake, but remains a quality option as a back-up.
