Kepa is Not Good as Courtois at the Moment – Maurizio Sarri
Aug 12, 2018 at 1:40 PM
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri believes the fans should not expect performances like Thibaut Courtois from their new goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga at the moment.
The Chelsea manager believes it will take some time for Kepa to be as good as Courtois.
Soon after Thibaut Courtois made his decision to leave Chelsea, the Blues were desperately in search of a replacement. In meanwhile, Chelsea was failing to find so, and as a result, they had to keep Courtois till then.
But when the Belgian forced a move to Real Madrid, the Premier League side had no other option, but to trigger the release clause of Athletic Bilbao’s, Kepa Arrizabalaga. The deal cost them £71.6m, and it made Kepa the most expensive goalkeeper in the history of football.
However, Sarri has looked to lower the expectations on his new signing. He believes the Spaniard still has a lot of improvement to do before he can reach the level of his predecessor.
When asked if he can be as good as Chelsea’s former keeper, Sarri said,
“Not at the moment. Not at the moment for sure, but he is very young, 23 I think. So I hope he can improve very fast. But for the moment he is not Courtois, of course.”
“We lost one of the most important goalkeepers in the world but we bought a good, young keeper, I think one of the most important among young goalkeepers in Europe, so I’m really happy.”
The manager Sarri also talked about his another signing Mateo Kovacic who has joined the Blues on a season-long loan from Real Madrid.
“I think he has the characteristics for us. He is able to play between the lines of the opponent, for us that could be very important.”
Chelsea pulled off these two deals just before the deadline day in the English Premier League.