After Thibaut Courtois missed Chelsea’s training session for two consecutive days, Chelsea found no other option, but to find the keeper’s replacement as soon as possible. And this has made the Blues to break the bank and trigger the release clause of Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Kepa all set to join Chelsea
The Athletic Bilbao keeper’s release clause is €80m. If Chelsea finalises the deal, Kepa will become the most expensive goalkeeper in the history, beating Liverpool’s latest signing Alisson Becker.
While, on the other hand, Courtois is set to move to Real Madrid for a reported fee of £35m. And with time running out before the Premier League transfer deadline on Thursday, Chelsea have decided to make it happen as soon as possible.
According to the latest reports, Kepa boarded a flight from Bilbao Airport on Tuesday. He is set to meet with his representatives in Madrid and decide whether to make a move to Stamford Bridge.
Interestingly, Kepa Arrizabalaga was close to joining Madrid for as little as €20m in January. But the deal was blocked by then-coach Zinedine Zidane.
As soon as the deal got blocked, Athletic Bilbao gave him a new long-term contract with a new release clause of €80m. As Chelsea are desperate to bring in Courtois’ replacement, the Blues have now nothing to do but to trigger the release clause.
Kepa joined Athletic at the age of ten. He was part of the Spain squad that lost to Germany in the final of the Under-21 European Championship in 2017.
The young goalkeeper was also part of the senior group at the 2018 World Cup, alongside David De Gea and Pepe Reina. If Chelsea finalizes the deal of Kepa Arrizabalaga, then the Belgium goalkeeper will pack his bag immediately and fly to Madrid.