Chelsea could face key summer exit decision as La Liga side interested in star

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Chelsea could reportedly have a crucial decision to make this summer as Valencia are said to be interested in goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

The 25-year-old has continued to play a key role for the Blues this season, making 33 appearances across all competitions. However after a dip in form as he’s kept just eight clean sheets in those outings, boss Frank Lampard opted to drop him in February.

Veteran shot-stopper Willy Caballero stepped in for a string of games including four Premier League outings and a Champions League clash with Bayern Munich, and that unsurprisingly raised doubts over Kepa’s future at Stamford Bridge.

To his credit, the Spaniard bounced back by producing back-to-back impressive displays after getting his place in the XI back, and so that show of character and quality surely would have reflected well on him.

Nevertheless, Sport report that there are still doubts over his future at Chelsea and it’s suggested that Valencia are interested in him as they could be in the market for a replacement for Jasper Cillessen.

However, it’s added that Neto is also being considered by Los Che, and so it remains to be seen if they prioritise Kepa, and importantly, if they can reach an agreement with Chelsea over a transfer fee.

As noted by BBC Sport, Chelsea broke their club transfer record to sign Kepa in 2018 as he joined for £71m from Athletic Bilbao to help fill the void left behind by Thibaut Courtois.

With that in mind, they’ll surely want to recoup as much of that outlay as possible, while it’s a big decision to cut their big-money signing after just two years.

In turn, much will depend on Lampard’s plans moving forward and if Kepa is still the right man for the job. If he’s not, then Valencia could be alerted by the situation and Chelsea will have a big decision on whether or not to green light an exit and move in a new direction.

As per the Telegraph, the Premier League giants have been linked with Ajax star Andre Onana as it’s suggested it could take a £35m bid to prise him away from the reigning Eredivisie champions.

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