Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is one of the victims of Chelsea’s super squad of more than forty players and could be left without a contract with the “Blue” team if he does not find an exit in this summer transfer market.
Kepa, who was on loan at Real Madrid last season, where he shared the starting line-up with Lunin until Thibaut Courtois’ return, still has one year left on his contract with Chelsea, the club he joined in 2018 for 80 million euros.
The Spaniard has never been an undisputed starter at Stamford Bridge and is now part of a group that trains separately at the Cobham training ground and could be left without a signing if he does not find a way out in the eleven days remaining in the transfer market.
Chelsea currently have 42 players in their squad, while the Premier League only allows 25 players to register for the league championship. However, of the 42 players, 12 are under 21 years old, so do not count towards this limit.
Under Premier League rules, at least eight of the players in a Premier League team’s squad must be Home Grown, meaning they have spent at least three seasons at the club before turning 21.
With Conor Gallagher about to formalise his transfer to Atlético de Madrid, Chelsea are looking to sell Kepa, Armando Broja, Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell and Romelu Lukaku, who is negotiating with Napoli a pay cut and a transfer fee that could reach 30 million euros.
Enzo Maresca is counting on Robert Sanchez, who will start this Sunday against Manchester City, Filip Jorgensen, who was signed for more than 20 million from Villarreal this summer, and Marcus Betinelli as his three goalkeepers for the season, meaning that Kepa, if he does not leave, would be left without a place in the first team.
Broja, Chalobah, Chilwell and Lukaku would be in a similar situation if they did not leave Chelsea.
Mexicans without a team
There are three highly regarded Mexican footballers who will be left without a team: Guillermo Ochoa, Carlos Vela and Rodolfo Pizarro.
Ochoa did not have an easy time of it in his final year with Salernitana, as he not only failed to prevent the team from losing its place in Italy’s top flight, but also reached the milestone of 1,000 goals conceded as a professional.
Carlos Vela, for his part, ended his association with the Los Angeles club, and after his time at LAFC he has been seen completely away from the pitch, even without sharing practically anything about his life as a footballer on social media or in interviews. This has sparked speculation about his possible retirement, since on several occasions he has said that he would not like to return to Mexican football.
The most worrying case is perhaps that of Rodolfo Pizarro, who after leaving Inter Miami through the back door, received a second chance from Matías Almeyda at AEK Greece. However, since he was not part of the plans, the Bravos de Juárez apparently had everything arranged for his arrival, something that seems to no longer be happening.
#Madrid #freezer
2024-09-05 02:46:10
