Kepa Joins Chelsea for £71 million

Chelsea have finally gotten their number one with Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga signing for the Blues from boyhood club Athletic Bilbao. Chelsea have been looking for a goalkeeper with current first choice Thibaut Courtois looking to move to Real Madrid and have been linked with a number of goalkeepers throughout the transfer like Alisson, Jack Butland and Jordan Pickford.

The deal was concluded last night signing a seven-year contract and will make his debut against Huddersfield on Saturday. Speaking on the Official Chelsea website,  the 23-year-old stated: "It's a very important decision for me, for my career, and for my personal life." "So many things attracted me to the club, all the titles the club has won, the other players, the city, the English Premier League. It's an accumulation of things, and I am very glad Chelsea has decided to trust me and to take me in as well." The director of Chelsea Marina Granovskalia also had some words to say about the transfer saying: "Kepa is a talent we have admired for a long time and we are extremely excited about his arrival. He has already demonstrated fantastic quality and consistency and will be a big part of any success Chelsea have in the coming years."

Kepa joined Athletic Bilbao as a ten-year-old making his first team debut on September 2016 against Deportivo de La Coruna. He has made 54 appearances for Bilbao keeping 16 clean sheets. He was previously linked with Real Madrid in 2016 before signing a new contract which included the £71 million release clause. Coming from the youth ranks in the Spanish setup, he made his debut on November 2017 against Costa Rica. He was also part of the 23-man Spain squad for the 2018 World Cup squad. He joins a strong Spanish contingent with Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso, Pedro, Cesc Fabregas and Alvaro Morata. 

The fee of £71 million makes him the most expensive goalkeeper in history beating the £67 million Liverpool paid to sign Alisson Becker from AS Roma