Chelsea outcast Kepa lined up for shock transfer to Bournemouth but Blues fans fume about details of move
BOURNEMOUTH have emerged as shock suitors for Chelsea outcast Kepa Arrizabalaga, reports suggest.
The Spaniard is out of favour at Stamford Bridge after returning from a year-long loan spell at Real Madrid last season, where he made 20 appearances before he was dropped in favour of Andriy Lunin
GettyKepa Arrizabalaga is out of favour at Chelsea[/caption]
And The Athletic now report that the Cherries are interested in bringing Arrizabalga to the Vitality Stadium on a loan deal.
However, for the 29-year-old to complete the move, he will first need to sign a contract extension. He is understood to be on £150,000 per week currently.
With his contract set to expire in 2025, this move is likely because transfer chiefs do not want to lose him for free next summer and want to protect his market value.
But Blues fans have slammed this move, calling on the club to pursue a permanent exit for the goalkeeper.
Reacting on social media, one fan said: “NOT ANOTHER LOAN MAN AND ARE WE EXTENDING HIS CONTRACT TOO?”
A second said: “Obligation needed.”
A third added: “Nah someone buy him I beg.”
Another said: “Loaning him out in the final year of his contract is a nice summary of the disaster this transfer has been.”
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Chelsea have been widely criticised for their transfer policy this summer that has seen them stockpile scores of young players while pushing out senior stars.
Conor Gallagher is the most high-profile academy star to have already left.
Other senior stars including Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell and Trevoh Chalobah have been told they have no future at the club.
Arrizabalaga joined the west London club from Athletic Bilbao in 2018 and had made 163 appearances for the club’s first-team.
His transfer fee of £72m remains the record transfer fee for a goalkeeper.
Bournemouth drew 1-1 with Nottingham Forest in their opening Premier League game and face Newcastle on Sunday.
Chelsea ratings vs Servette
CHELSEA sealed their first win under new manager Enzo Maresca as they beat Swiss minnows Servette.
Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke got the second-half goals to give the Blues a commanding lead in their Uefa Conference League play-off double header.
But it was far from convincing with Chelsea BOOED OFF at half-time.
Here’s how SunSport’s Jack Rosser rated the Blues stars…
Filip Jorgensen – 7
Made some very smart saves – especially late on as the visitors caused problems and came close to finding a goal to get back in.
Axel Disasi – 6
Kept things quiet down Chelsea’s right hand side having been started out of position at right-back. The Frenchman did not offer much going forwards but was more than solid enough defensively.
Tosin Adarabioyo – 6
An assured first start for the club since joining from Fulham on a free transfer. The defender was not caused any real problems and dominated in the air – a big reason Chelsea decided to snap him up.
Benoit Badiashile – 6
Solid enough defensively but looked awkward on the ball at times, especially when Chelsea were trying to pick a way through a solid midfield.
Renato Veiga – 5
Was given the task of moving inside from left-back and looked to struggle a lot at points, losing the ball cheaply on half way at one stage.
Moises Caicedo – 5
The midfielder was sent out in the holding role and hardly helped defensively by having Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Nkunku, a striker, ahead of him. Struggled to get a grip of midfield and dictate the game.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – 7
A very encouraging full debut for the summer signing – neat and positive on the ball and created some good chances for those ahead of him.
Pedro Neto – 6
A first start for his new club and the winger made some very encouraging runs down the right hand side. Will take time to settle but looks a very good option.
Christopher Nkunku – 6
Rather fortunate to win the penalty as it looked a touch harsh but stepped up and converted well.
Mykhailo Mudryk – 4
The definition of all bark, no bite. The Ukrainian winger has pace to burn and a huge bag of tricks but neither help him make any significant impact on games.
Continuing to play like that and Raheem Sterling might have a future here after all.
Marc Guiu – 6
Missed an absolute sitter to score his first goal for Chelsea.
After working so hard through the first half, Guiu turned a tap in into a howler when putting what should have been an easy finish straight at the scrambling Servette keeper.
The Cherries recently sold Dominic Solanke for a club-record fee of £65m, and have reinvested that money into buying Porto ace Evanilson for £40m.
Boss Andoni Iraola currently has Neto, Mark Travers and Will Dennis as his available goalkeepers.
In terms of incoming deals, Arrizabalaga would represent the eighth arrival of the window for Bournemouth.
Should he, along with 12 other stars who have uncertain futures at Chelsea this summer, be moved on, then the club are in line to save as much as £1.25m PER WEEK in cut wages.
Chelsea lost in their opening game against Manchester City, but managed to beat Servette in the first leg of their Europa Conference League qualifier on Thursday.
Chelsea ratings vs Man City
CHELSEA began life under new boss Enzo Maresca with a 2-0 home defeat to champions Manchester City.
Here’s how SunSport’s Lloyd Canfield rated the Chelsea lot as the season didn’t begin how they wanted.
Robert Sanchez – 4/10
Distribution-wise, it’s not good enough; that said, he made an absolutely fantastic save to deny a deflected effort from Jeremy Doku in the first half.
Similarly in the second half, made a routine save to deny Erling Haaland before getting a hand to Mateo Kovacic’s shot, but failed to stop it rattling the back of the net.
Malo Gusto – 5
It’s more of the impressive attitude we saw last season from the flying Frenchman, but today, he couldn’t stamp his mark on the game at all going forward.
We certainly see more of his best qualities in the game where Chelsea have more of the ball, he should grow into the season nicely over the next few games.
Wesley Fofana – 5
He didn’t look out of his depth in his first Premier League game for Chelsea for over a year, and despite conceding, it was a decent performance to build on in the coming games.
Did well physically against Haaland in fairness, and made it through the 90 minutes unscathed which will please Chelsea fans in some capacity.
Levi Colwill – 5
Tough day at the office against physicality personified in Erling Haaland.
Did play the ball well out from the back for Chelsea with a few good blocks and tackles. But much the same as with Wesley Fofana, there is room for growth into the season with easier fixtures upcoming, particularly where Chelsea will dominate on the ball.
Marc Cucurella – 6
Forced Jeremy Doku into a change of wing in the first half after winning a tough battle against the Belgian winger, and stepped into challenges well for the most part.
Was solid again in the second half before going off with an injury.
Romeo Lavia – 6
He looked like a calming presence in the Chelsea midfield when he did get the ball and he broke up play pretty well for a player who has been out through injury for so long.
Continued his good pre-season form and is deserving of a run in the side.
Moises Caicedo – 5
A similar performance really to the aforementioned Lavia, but was one of Chelsea’s better progressors of the ball when they did get forwards and showed some nice touches in the middle of the park.
Fans will be left wondering whether he, Lavia and Enzo Fernandez fit into the same midfield.
Enzo Fernandez – 5
A mixed performance from the Argentine midfielder who showed promise in spells, but it really wasn’t the level you would expect of a player with his price tag.
This could have been a huge game for the Chelsea captain for the day, but he failed to really stamp his mark on it in comparison to the player whom he replaced, Mateo Kovacic.
Christopher Nkunku – 4
Enzo Maresca seemed to want him playing as a touchline winger, but the forward looks far more comfortable in the middle of the pitch.
He was the first player to be hooked in the second half and was replaced by Pedro Neto, who looked more at home wide on the left-hand side.
Cole Palmer – 5
It was far from the electric performance which saw him scoop heaps of praise last season.
He still did show glimpses going forward, but he just failed to impact the game in the ways he did last time around.
Nicolas Jackson – 4
New season, same old Nicolas Jackson.
A great run in the first half was let down by a pea-roller of a shot into a Man City defender, before he hit the back of the net only to see the official’s flag raised on the far side.
I’m sorry Nic Jackson, but it’s a four for you this time round…
SUBS:
Pedro Neto (Nkunku, 58) – 5
Not the kind of debut that got fans out of their seats, but with The Blues failing to really get him on the ball there was little to take note of.
Marc Guiu (Jackson, 66) – 5
Less impactful than Nicolas Jackson, but in considerably less time.
For a player who can dominate physically, he looked a little intimidated by the Manchester City defence and wasn’t really presented with any chances.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Lavia, 67) – 5
Many Chelsea fans were disappointed to see Romeo Lavia come off after a good performance, and Dewsbury-Hall failed to add any of the attacking prowess we saw in the Championship last season.
Renato Veiga (Cucurella, 80) – 5
He didn’t have enough time to impact the game after replacing Marc Cucurella, who had more time to establish himself as one of Chelsea’s better performers.
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