Kepa Arrizabalaga never quite got going at Chelsea. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Stan Collymore has encouraged incoming Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino to replace Kepa Arrizabalaga with Brentford shot-stopper David Raya in the summer transfer window.
He further asserted that Kepa is weak and is not at Chelsea’s level. This despite Pochettino’s plan to include the Spanish goalkeeper for next season.
Kepa endured a dismal campaign that saw Chelsea finish in the bottom half of the table and miss out on European football. While he has had his moments, the Spaniard had enjoyed more misses than hits in west London.
However, since Pochettino has made his feelings clear about Kepa’s position next season. The Argentine feels the Spanish custodian can reach the same level under him, Pochettino, and goalkeeping coach Toni Jimenez.
This has led to Chelsea dropping their pursuit of a new goalkeeper this summer. They arw now turning their attention to bringing in a backup shotstopper, given that Edouard Mendy is close to joining the Saudi club.
However, Collymore feels otherwise, as he wants the former Tottenham Hotspur boss to sign David Raya from the Bees, as he claimed in his column for Caught Offside (h/t Mirror):
“It seems Mauricio Pochettino is happy to go into the new season with Kepa as his number one. But that’s going to be a problem in my opinion because the Spaniard is weak—he isn’t physically or mentally strong enough to be the Blues’ outright number one.”
Collymore may or may not be correct here, but every player deserves a chance at redemption. This is what the former PSG manager feels and it would be prudent to give his decision a shot.
Kepa’s drop in form could be due to he barely played under Thomas Tuchel and last season he played every game when Mendy picked up an injury. A confidence player, he will hopefully seize the new opportunity with both hands.
It makes little sense to sign Raya if Pochettino is happy with our present custodian, despite the fact that Raya is a superb goalkeeper and has been outstanding this season. Managers generally have the final word on a player’s future with the team.
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