Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has completed his move to Real Madrid on a season-long loan from Chelsea.
He joins the Los Blancos as a cover for former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who picked up a potential season-ending ACL injury last week in training.
This is a dream move for Kepa, who was on the verge of joining Madrid from Athletic in 2018 before the club opted to sign Courtois.
After Courtois joined Madrid, Kepa then moved to Chelsea in a record €80 million deal for a goalkeeper.
The Spanish international had endured a difficult five years at the London club. Despite being first choice in his first two years, his dip in form in the third year made him lose his starting berth to Edouard Mendy in 2021, before he regained it for much of the 2022/23 season – making 39 appearances in all competitions and keeping just 12 clean sheets.
He leaves the Blues after his fellow Spaniard Robert Sanchez was captured from Brighton and Hove earlier this month as a backup goalkeeper.
His departure now leaves Chelsea with only Sanchez as the only senior goalkeeper available in their squad so they will now need to enter the market for a new goalkeeper at least for this season.
At Madrid, Kepa will compete with Andriy Lunin for that one starting spot in between the sticks. Lunin started and kept a clean sheet via the weekend as Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in their first game of the La Liga season.
That was the Ukrainian only 10th appearances since he joined the club from Zorya Luhansk in 2018.
