Chelsea are reportedly being tipped to decide against signing a goalkeeper this summer after speculation over Kepa Arrizabalaga’s future.
The 25-year-old was dropped by Frank Lampard for a run of four consecutive Premier League games in February after a dip in form, but to his credit he returned to the starting XI for the last two games before the season was suspended and impressed while keeping two clean sheets.
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Nevertheless, that seemingly wasn’t enough to silence transfer speculation over his future, as the Sun reported last month that the Spaniard was continuing to be linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge, as Chelsea considered moving him on while lining up a replacement in Borussia Dortmund’s Roman Burki.
Meanwhile, the Telegraph noted back in April that Ajax shot-stopper Andre Onana was also being linked with the Blues, and so it appeared as though Lampard might have been considering a big change to replace Kepa ahead of next season.
However, that seems as though it might not be on the cards anymore as the Daily Mail report that as Chelsea look to secure deals to sign Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, they are now prepared to ‘shelve plans’ to sign a new ‘keeper.
It’s added that they will only green light an exit for Kepa if they can recoup a significant portion of the £71.6m fee that they spent to sign him, but that’s surely highly unlikely in the current financial climate off the back of the coronavirus pandemic.
In turn, it looks as though he will continue at Chelsea as the Blues look to add more firepower and perhaps address other areas of the squad and not having to replace Kepa will surely help them to do that without the distraction of having to identify and sign a replacement which could prove to be costly in itself and eat into their budget.
Assuming the the Spanish ace wants to stay at Chelsea, that will be a major boost for him as an exit seems more unlikely now, with the club changing their stance on a new signing and focusing elsewhere.