Frank Lampard has all but confirmed that Kepa Arrizabalaga will continue to be Chelsea's first choice goalkeeper for the rest of the season despite having previous issues with the shot-stopper. It was the Englishman that dropped Kepa from the side in 2020 following a poor run of form in the first place.
The Blues turned to Edouard Mendy and didn't look back. After 18 months he had gone on to win the Champions League, Super Cup, Club World Cup and play a starring role in the Carabao Cup final last season. It was Kepa's missed spot-kick that sealed defeat in that game for Chelsea.
Injuries and poor form have meant that Mendy has played a peripheral role this season though, only starting eight games in the league. Graham Potter turned to Kepa for his ball-playing ability during the early stages of his tenure and did oversee a brief resurgence.
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Kepa has regressed somewhat since then, leaving fans to speculate that Mendy would be returning under Lampard. That doesn't appear to be the case though with Lampard choosing the Spaniard over his senior teammate in both of his games in charge so far.
He could do little to stop Matheus Nunes' thunderbolt for Wolves but was criticised once more his weak hands in trying to stop Marco Asensio's low drive against Real Madrid. Despite that, Lampard isn't set to hand the gloves back to Mendy. "I don’t see any reasons to do anything differently at the moment, with Kepa’s performances and maturity," he said.
"I’ve maybe matured as a coach as I’ve come back, he has matured as a player. I think he has been in good form and Edou has had a couple of injuries. He is still carrying a small one at the moment so the position as you see it doesn’t change. I’m not judging anything on my previous time at the club as opposed to what is in front of me now."
It is Kepa that looks set to face Brighton on Saturday but moving forward Chelsea have plans for a new goalkeeper to come in over the summer with football.london understanding that Brentford's David Raya is on the list of those being considered. It was a position being looked at over the summer too.
Kepa was keen on a move away, unable to fight his way into Thomas Tuchel's thinking on a permanent basis, and pushed for a loan with Napoli amongst those interested. No such deal was agreed though and he has since gone on to re-establish himself, though errors that a world-class keeper wouldn't make have led many to believe both choices at SW6 are below standard.
It comes as the Evening Standard report that, despite his current first-team status, Chelsea would be open to selling Kepa once again if a suitable offer were to come in. It creates quite a dilemma for the club, with Mendy also not certain to remain. His contract, signed in 2020, falls below the market rate for a keeper proven on the elite stage.
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