Kepa Arrizabalaga is sweating on his place in the Club World Cup final against Palmeiras on Saturday, as Chelsea consider restoring the returned Edouard Mendy to the team following his African Cup of Nations victory with Senegal.
Such a decision could well make the 27-year-old’s mind up to leave, as the European champions now expect him to go with the summer, amid renewed interest from Spanish clubs. Chelsea are now expecting acceptable bids in the next window.
The Club World Cup is seen as having such importance to Chelsea that they want to put out their absolute best XI against Palmeiras.
Kepa’s time as a starter has nevertheless been seen as hugely beneficial to his future, as he has put in a series of high-quality performances and re-established himself as a top goalkeeper.
The opinion within Chelsea is that he is superior to both David De Gea and Unai Simon for Spain, and the belief is that is likely to convince La Liga’s big clubs to come back in for him. Having come in for £71m, Kepa’s price tag had previously put off any bids, but there is an optimism a deal can be done for the summer.
Chelsea were previously never interested in loaning the Spanish international out as they would still have had to bring in an alternative to replace him.
Kepa put in another superb display against Al Hilal on Wednesday, securing Chelsea’s place in the Club World Cup final with two brilliant saves in a narrow 1-0 victory.
