Real Madrid player almost joined Bayern Munich this summer

Real Madrid made a bright start to the summer transfer window but did not make too many additions over the latter half of it. Overall, they brought in five new players. Jude Bellingham, Fran Garcia and Arda Guler arrived on a permanent basis. On the other hand, Joselu and Kepa Arrizabalaga are on season-long loan deals.

The club were forced to sign a goalkeeper when Thibaut Courtois tore his ACL before the season had even started. He might not even return to action in the 2023/24 campaign.

Real Madrid moved swiftly to get a deal done for Kepa, who has arrived on loan from Chelsea. It remains to be seen if he has a long-term future at the club.

Kepa was pretty close to joining Bayern Munich before heading for the Spanish capital. And he has shed some light on the move. As reported by MARCA (via GOAL), the goalkeeper said:

"“It’s true that Pochettino wanted me to stay and he told me that I was going to play, that he trusted me, but I thought that a change would be good for me, I wanted a change. Thomas Tuchel called me. We were close to going to Munich.“I felt it was time for a change of scenery. I wanted to stay, but I felt that the project was not the right one… When Madrid calls you, everything changes. My signing was closed in just a few hours and a couple of calls.”"

Real Madrid player almost joined Bayern Munich this summer

A move back to Spain is a good opportunity for Kepa to bring his career back on track. Of course, he rose through the ranks at Athletic Bilbao.

A world-record move to Chelsea never quite worked out for him. Kepa was expected to become one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Instead, he struggled to even hold on to his starting spot at Stamford Bridge for large spells of time.

After five years at Chelsea, a change of scenery was good for Kepa. It remains to be seen how he does at Real Madrid. He has been placed as the starter ahead of Andriy Lunin and has kept a clean sheet in his first two appearances for the Spanish giants.

If Kepa does well enough, could Real Madrid try to sign him on a permanent basis next summer? Only time shall tell.