Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is likely to leave Chelsea in London for this season. He should head for a one-year loan to Naples, Italy, where he hopes to get more space and be able to prove himself before the upcoming World Cup.
A deal between Chelsea and Napoli is already quite close. It would be a profitable loan for the Italian team, as the Londoners would still pay 75 percent of the 24-year-old goalkeeper’s salary. He earns 150 thousand pounds per week (4.4 million crowns) at Stamford Bridge.
In 2018, the Blues paid a record 71.6 million pounds (over two billion crowns) for the Spanish goalkeeper. If the two clubs finally reach an agreement, Napoli will pay £1.25 million (36.6 million crowns).
Kepa was no longer given as much space at Chelsea as he was after his arrival. Although he was now catching in a friendly against Udinese, he would like more space. He is currently the number one of Édouard Mendy’s London team.
Besides Napoli, Lazio was also interested in Kepa. But here he runs into a problem in the name of Maurizio Sarri. The Italian coach had disputes with Kepa during his time at Chelsea, which started when the Spanish goalkeeper did not want to leave the pitch during the 2019 Carabao Cup final against Manchester City.
If Kepa is successful with Napoli, coach Luciano Spalletti will be satisfied. He has been calling for a goalkeeper with good footwork to join the team for a long time, which Kepa fulfills. The question remains how it would be with current Napoli number one Alex Meret, who could reconsider the contract extension that has been talked about in recent weeks.
Petr Čech also left Chelsea this year:
TN.cz
