Chelsea are reportedly looking to sign a new goalkeeper regardless of whether or not Kepa Arrizabalaga stays at Stamford Bridge this summer.
Willy Caballero started ahead of the 25-year-old in Chelsea’s dominant win over Manchester United in the FA Cup semifinal yesterday.
It does not necessarily mean Frank Lampard lost his confidence in Kepa, but it would be naive to think the former Athletic Bilbao shot-stopper has earned the manager’s trust.
The Blues have conceded more goals (49 so far) than any other team in the top half of the Premier League table.
Some would argue Kepa is not solely to blame for the poor defensive numbers, but he has certainly played a part.
According to data from FBref, Kepa ranks at the bottom (37th) among Premier League goalkeepers in terms of the difference between the post-shot expected goals conceded and actual goals conceded (PSxG+-).
The Spain international conceded 6.5 more goals than expected, while the top keepers on the list such as Tottenham Hotspur’s Hugo Lloris (1st) and Sheffield United’s Dean Henderson (2nd) have conceded 9.8 and 8.1 goals fewer than expected, respectively.
And according to a report from the Telegraph, Chelsea will examine whether a new goalkeeper could be brought in to challenge for the No.1 spot.
The Blues are also considering the option to offload Kepa via long-term loan move to Spanish clubs; Valencia and Sevilla, since they’ve acknowledged that selling the player they signed for a record £71.5m would be difficult in the current market.
Chelsea could plan to include Kepa in their bid for Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak and Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but the two clubs are reportedly unwilling to let go of their No.1s, the report added.
Technical and performance advisor Petr Cech and former goalkeeper coach turned scout Christophe Lollichon have reportedly been given the task to draw up two lists of potential targets.
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