Real Madrid join Bayern Munich in the race for Chelsea star Kepa Arrizabalaga after the ACL injury to Thibaut Courtois. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
According to Chronicle Live, Chelsea star Kepa Arrizabalaga is among the goalkeeper targets for Newcastle United ahead of the summer transfer window. He has struggled to garner enough game time under Thomas Tuchel thanks to the presence of Edouard Mendy.
The Spaniard has been a handy option as a backup shot-stopper for Mendy. The former has done well whenever given chances despite his famous mishap against Liverpool in this season’s Carabao Cup finals. However, he has been linked with a departure from Stamford Bridge and is on Newcastle’s radar.
The Magpies are believed to be searching the market for a goalkeeper to replace Martin Dubravka in the future. Kepa is among the targets who have been linked with a move to St. James’ Park. He is also joined by Lazio’s Thomas Strakosha in their list of potential options. Dean Henderson of Manchester United is being considered as well, according to Daily Star, via The Express (h/t ChronicleLive).
It would not be surprising at all to see Arrizabalaga being deemed dispensable at the end of this season. After all, he currently earns a salary package of around £150,000-a-week which is very expensive for a second choice keeper who plays for a few minutes. Despite his quality, we would understand if the club decided to sell him and replace him with a cheaper option.
We spent a record £71.6million in transfer fees to sign the Spaniard from Athletic Bilbao, making him the most expensive goalkeeper signed in football history. However, his move simply has not worked out the way we wanted it to, even with his improvements under Tuchel so far.
Hence, it would be wise on our side to cut costs with the 27-year-old and recoup as much as possible from Eddie Howe’s financially strong side. Having that wage bill reduced coupled with a solid transfer fee would go a long way to help us raise funds to meet our summer transfer needs.
However, with other targets also in the fray, we must make sure not to haggle too much as we could lose the Magpies’ interest. After all, making the Blues ace too pricey could force them to contemplate moving on to their other options like Henderson and Strakosha.
With Man United having set a £40million asking price on Henderson, we have a mark to work with when negotiating with The Toons. Kepa has certainly done better than the Red Devils ace, so a price tag in and around that fee could potentially convince Howe’s team to move for the Spaniard.
It will be interesting to see how this situation will turn out in the coming months ahead of the summer transfer window. Let’s hope that Newcastle prefer to sign Kepa, much to our benefit.
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