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Real Madrid Complete Signing of Kepa Arrizabalaga on Season Long Loan for the 23/24 SeasonSoccer Sports 

Real Madrid Complete Signing of Kepa Arrizabalaga on Season Long Loan for the 23/24 Season

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Kepa Arrizabalaga is the latest Chelsea player to join the ranks of Real Madrid as he pens a season-long loan deal with Los Blancos. After the unfortunate news of Thibaut Courtois tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), Real immediately scramble to look for a replacement goalkeeper besides his backup, Andriy Lunin. Kepa Arrizabalaga was a prime candidate, as Chelsea had just signed Robert Sanchez from Brighton. After a quick discussion, both parties agreed on the deal, with Madrid paying his salary over the coming season, £1 million for the loan deal and no buyout option clause.

Kepa Arrizabalaga Is the Correct Choice for Real Madrid

Losing a goalkeeper of Thibaut Courtois’s calibre is always hard to replace, but Kepa Arrizabalaga is not a bad replacement despite the reputation he comes with. While his presence in the box and command of his defenders are lacking, he is a fantastic shot-stopper, as he won the award for the best save in the Premier League last season.

Before Kepa penned his signature, Real Madrid was in talks of signing Yassine Bounou from Sevilla, but the deal hit a hall as he was too expensive. We can understand why Real was interested in Bounou as he shares a similar physical structure with Courtois and had great performances for club and country. However, we still stick with Kepa Arrizabalaga as he is hungry to prove himself worthy of the mantle of the world’s most expensive goalkeeper.

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Kepa Arrizabalaga Chooses Real Madrid Over Bayern Munich

Real Madrid was not the only team fighting for Kepa Arrizabalaga, as Bayern Munich also voiced their preference for the Spanish goalkeeper. Akin to Real, Bayern was equally desperate for a goalkeeper as Manuel Neuer is still recovering from his skiing injury. With former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel at the helm, they thought to have a higher chance of signing the Spaniard, but talks with Real progressed faster than expected.

Furthermore, Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen confirmed that Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga snubbed a move to Germany for his native country Spain. He also mentioned that they were close to signing Kepa and wanted to introduce him today, but he chose Real Madrid because he is Spanish.

Kepa Arrizabalaga Was Overly Criticised at Chelsea 

Kepa Arrizabalaga’s time in Chelsea was harsher than he expected as Chelsea fans were never confident with him behind the sticks. After his world-record transfer fee and the famous touchline face-off with Maurizio Sarri, the Chelsea faithful lost their trust in him as Petr Čech went to France himself and convinced Édouard Mendy to sign for the club as his replacement. The decision paid off as Chelsea won the Champions League, but Kepa’s reputation fell even more into the gutter.

However, lady luck was with him last season as he started most of the games for Chelsea after Mendy’s horrendous drop in form. He was also awarded the captaincy due to his string of performances to help Chelsea secure points. Let’s also not forget his redemption arc in the UEFA Super Cup, as he saved crucial penalties to win Chelsea the trophy. Considering everything, Kepa Arizzabalaga’s reputation as the most expensive goalkeeper and occasional mistakes outshined his accolades in Chelsea, where he won the Champions League, the Club World Cup, the European Super Cup and the Europa League.

Jude Bellingham Impresses on Debut 

While pending for Kepa Arizzabalaga’s arrival, Real Madrid kicked off their charge for the title nicely as they won 2-0 away at Athletic Bilbao. Jude Bellingham was the source of much praise as he scored on his debut and put in a man-of-the-match performance for his new club. While expectations were always high for Jude, even the most fanatic Real fan did not expect him to come in and immediately hit the ground running. 

Starting in the number 10 position alongside the new generation of midfield with Aurélien Tchouaméni, Eduardo Camavinga, and Fede Valverde, he covered the whole ground and linked up play brilliantly with Rodrygo and Vinícius. His performance earned him high praise from his boss, Carlo Ancelotti, who described him as a big personality. His dominating performance also earned him a spot on the front page of the Sunday Diario AS with the title, Bellingham is the boss.

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