Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga was close to leaving the club for Napoli during the summer transfer window, but Todd Boehly’s demands over the deal saw it fall through.
The Spanish shot-stopper was one of the big performers of the weekend, putting in a terrific display with some incredible saves to keep out Aston Villa in Chelsea’s 2-0 win at Villa Park.
Mason Mount may have scored both goals to win the game for Graham Potter’s side, but Villa had plenty of clear-cut chances in the first half and could easily have scored three goals if not for Kepa’s fantastic form.
Writing in his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Kepa was not far away from leaving Chelsea for Napoli this summer, with the Serie A giants working on a loan move with the the option to later make the signing permanent.
Boehly, however, was not keen on the structure of the deal, so pulled the plug, according to Romano, and many CFC fans will now be glad he did.
“Kepa was actually close to leaving in the summer as Napoli were in advanced talks with Chelsea over a deal. In the end, Todd Boehly didn’t accept a loan proposal with buy option as he only wanted to proceed on permanent deal,” Romano explained.
“Kepa is now doing great under Graham Potter but I’m sure Edouard Mendy will also be ready to compete soon, so there’s no news on the goalkeepers situation at Chelsea right now.”
Chelsea spent big money to sign Kepa a few years ago and he initially struggled at Stamford Bridge, but he now looks the better option than Edouard Mendy.
It’s funny how things work out, and Blues supporters will certainly be relieved that Boehly didn’t allow this departure to go through without the terms being exactly right.