Chelsea are reportedly not looking to offer Kepa Arrizabalaga a new contract at the west London club.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the Blues will look to move Edouard Mendy out of Stamford Bridge this summer, with a swoop for Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana potentially on the agenda for Chelsea as a possible replacement for the Senegal international.
With that in mind, some behind-the-scenes details have come to light regarding the current situation surrounding another shot-stopper currently in Graham Potter’s side.
According to a recent report from Football Insider, Chelsea are in no rush to hand Arrizabalaga a new contract despite his recent return to form.
The west London club splashed out a fee of £71m to sign the Spaniard from Athletic Bilbao back in the 2018 summer transfer window.
Since then, the 28-year-old, who currently has over two years left on his contract, has made 151 appearances for the Blues across all competitions, conceding 154 goals and keeping 58 clean sheets along the way.
This season has seen Arrizabalaga feature in 27 matches across all competitions for Potter’s side, more than the 11 games that Mendy has played in.
Should Chelsea offer Kepa Arrizabalaga a new contract?
Yes
No
Across the Spaniard’s 19 Premier League games this season, he has faced 72 shots on target, saving 58 of them, leaving him with the highest save percentage (77.8%) in the division.
In addition to that, his overall performances have earned the shot-stopper a season rating of 6.96/10 from WhoScored, making him the fifth-highest rated player at the club.
With all of that in mind, it’s easy to see why Potter has been playing the £150k-per-week goalkeeper more regularly than Mendy this season.
Moving forward, we feel that in terms of his contract situation, potentially getting Mendy out and then bringing in a replacement should be the first port of call for Chelsea to do before they consider offering Arrizabalaga a new deal.
However, if he manages to keep impressing throughout the remainder of the campaign, we think that the club should consider offering him a new deal further down the line.