With only four weeks left until the start of the 2020/21 Premier League campaign, Frank Lampard needs to move quickly if he wants to replace Kepa Arrizabalaga as his goalkeeper.
It seems clear from Lampard’s team selection for the FA Cup final, where he chose Willy Caballero ahead of the young Spaniard, that Kepa has played his last game for the Blues.
Such a specialised position means options are often limited in any event, and one particular target won’t be heading to Stamford Bridge anytime soon if his current club have anything to do with it.
“No. No way,” Atletico Madrid president, Enrique Cerezo, said to AS and cited by Le10Sport, when asked if Jan Oblak would be made available for sale.
“Life has shown us things and I am convinced that Jan Oblak will continue to play at Atletico.”
Given Chelsea’s financial outlay already in this transfer window, it’s arguable that Oblak’s £103 release clause, as detailed by the Daily Mirror, would’ve been achievable in any event.
The Slovenian’s quality isn’t in doubt and he would certainly represent an upgrade on Kepa, however, in these uncertain economic times, paying upwards of £100m for any player, plus wages, might be considered bad business sense.