Real Madrid’s summer plans have been thrown into disarray over the past few days after Thibaut Courtois tore his ACL. An injury of that magnitude and nature is expected to take north of six months to heal and it is very possible that the Belgian goalkeeper could be out for the entirety of the 2023/24 campaign.
Naturally, Real Madrid have been linked with plenty of goalkeepers over the last couple of days. Names like David de Gea, Yassine Bounou and Illan Meslier have been doing the rounds of the rumour mill.
It looks like Real Madrid are instead closing in on a Chelsea player though. That is none other than Kepa Arrizabalaga.
As reported by Relevo, Real Madrid have reached an agreement with Kepa. He is set to join on loan from Chelsea. The agreement between the clubs could be closed in the next few hours.
Real Madrid reach total agreement with Chelsea player
This is not the first time that Real Madrid have been linked with Kepa. In fact, he was believed to be on the verge of joining the club back in early 2018 but it did not materialise.
Kepa joined Chelsea in the summer of 2018 for a transfer fee believed to be around €80 million, a record that stands to this day. His time at Stamford Bridge has been underwhelming though.
Over the past five years, Kepa has never managed to fulfil the world-class potential that he had shown at Athletic Bilbao. Chelsea recently signed Robert Sanchez from Brighton & Hove Albion and might be ready to let the Spaniard go for the right terms.
Of course, there are clear weaknesses in Kepa’s game. He struggles against strikes from distance and is not exactly a commanding presence in the box. The Spaniard is an excellent shot-stopper though.
Also, it feels like his game is more suited to La Liga than the Premier League. And having come through the ranks at Athletic Bilbao, it should not take him much time to adjust.