Revealed: Chelsea could have signed Jan Oblak instead of Kepa by spending £16m more

Chelsea could have signed Jan Oblak instead of Kepa by spending £16m more

According to Goal.com, it has come to the fore that Chelsea passed up on signing Jan Oblak for just an extra £16m on the amount they spent on Kepa. The Blues were after a number one in 2018 after the departure of Thibaut Courtois and signed Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao.

However, the Blues would be cursing themselves when they see Oblak at the opposite post while Kepa is likely to warm the bench. Given how Oblak has set the standard for elite keepers in Europe, it’s only natural that Chelsea feel the pinch of their decisions taken two and half years ago.

An £87m release clause in Oblak’s contract meant that Chelsea had to splash the cash but weren’t willing to pay that extravagant amount. It could be due to the modest fee they received for Courtois but with Atleti not budging in their valuation, Chelsea opted to take a different route.

They turned to Kepa of Athletic Bilbao who had a lower release clause of £71m. The deal might have gone through but what has transpired during Kepa’s time at the club would make any sane person question Chelsea’s decision to not spend that extra £16m to get Oblak.

Kepa has become a glorified second-choice after his string of poor, error-strewn performances for the club in the last two seasons. On the other spectrum lies Oblak who has arguably been the best keeper over the past few seasons.

It looks like a mistake of gargantuan proportions when we realize Chelsea ultimately spent an extra £22m to sign Edouard Mendy at the start of the season. While the Senegalese has done well so far, it’s a tall comparison when competing against a keeper of Oblak’s calibre.

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So, not only could Chelsea have signed an elite keeper like Oblak in 2018 if they played their cards right, they would have saved £6m as well as not having to keep a £71m valued keeper on their benches to play second fiddle.