Chelsea closing in on agreement to send Kepa Arrizabalaga out on loan to Serie A side Napoli… with the Spanish keeper hoping to get regular football to push his claims for a World Cup place
Chelsea are closing on agreement with Napoli over a season-long loan deal for goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The 24-year-old Spaniard, who cost a record £71.6million fee for a keeper in 2018, played for Chelsea on Friday in their 3-1 friendly win over Udinese.
He is eager to play regularly and push his claims for a World Cup place.
Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is closing in on a season-long loan move to Napoli
The Spaniard is hoping to get a move in order to improve his World Cup chances this year
Kepa has been sidelined by the form of Edouard Mendy and has found it difficult to displace the trusted Senegal international.
Chelsea will ask Napoli to pay a £1.25m loan fee and it’s believed the Italian side would have to pay 75 per cent of his wages.
Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti wants a goalkeeper who is skilled with his feet, and the Italian club’s owner has decided to appease his manager – who guided the club to a third place finish in Serie A last season.
Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti wants a keeper who is able to play with his feet
Lazio were also interested in Kepa, despite manager Maurizio Sarri’s spat with the keeper when he was Chelsea manager.
The Spaniard refused to come off during the 2019 Carabao Cup final when Sarri was manager, before they lost on penalties to Manchester City.
With the arrival of Kepa, the future of current Napoli keeper Alex Meret would be uncertain as he would no longer have the certainty of a starting position and could refuse to sign the renewal of his contract which has been planned for several weeks.
Kepa lost his place at Chelsea following the signing of team-mate Edouard Mendy
According to Sky Sports, there is already a draft agreement that will be made official in the next few hours.
Kepa has already accepted the destination and will be in Napoli on loan for 12 months with the possibility of immediately inheriting the role of goalkeeper after the departure of former number one David Ospina.
The two clubs are discussing bonuses, and Kepa is only waiting for the green light to become a Napoli player.
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