Chelsea must sell £150k-p/w ace who Granovskaia was “excited” to sign

In the 2018/19 season, Chelsea spent €208.80m (£172.4m) making three huge permanent signings for Maurizio Sarri, alongside two loan deals for Mateo Kovacic and Gonzalo Higuain.

During this season, the Blues finished third in the Premier League and won the UEFA Europa League, beating Arsenal 4-1 in Baku. Jorginho was seen as the most important of these signings, as he played a key role for Sarri at Napoli, and was looking to translate that system to the Premier League, bringing the Italian midfielder with him.

But the most expensive signing made that summer, has caused controversy from the very beginning, from a moment where he refused to be subbed off, to the present, where he clearly isn’t worth the wages he’s earning for the club.

Chelsea’s costly transfer mistake

Chelsea signed Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao for a fee of around £71.6m, arrived to replace Thibaut Courtois, who joined Real Madrid for around £35m in the same summer window.

Speaking at the time, Blues director Marina Granovskaia outlined her excitement at the capture of the 23-year-old, stating:

“Kepa is a talent we have admired for a long time and we are extremely excited about his arrival.

“He has already demonstrated fantastic quality and consistency and will be a big part of any success Chelsea have in the coming years…”

The former Bilbao man made 160 appearances for the club, keeping 59 clean sheets, conceding 175 goals and totalling 14,523 minutes played, yet has largely failed to convince over the past six years or so.

The Spanish keeper was often criticised for his form at Chelsea, with pundit Ian Wright notably stating back in 2023 that he simply “makes too many mistakes”. Indeed, the 2020/21 campaign, for instance, saw him lead the way in the division among his fellow ‘keepers, with regard to errors leading to goals (three).

The 30-year-old is earning £150k-per-week at Chelsea, but is currently out on loan with Bournemouth this season, with the Cherries paying half of his wages (£75k).

But when he returns to the club next season, Kepa will have one year left on his deal, taking him to June 2026.

Whilst Chelsea’s goalkeeper position is far from secure, the club will want to move Kepa’s high wages on, keeping their current selection of shotstoppers on more reasonable wages, and potentially looking to acquire a new number one when the time is right.

How Kepa compares to Chelsea’s current goalkeepers

Robert Sanchez was signed from Brighton in 2023, joining the club for a fee of around £25m. Since joining, the 27-year-old has made 36 appearances in all competitions, conceding 48 goals, keeping eight clean sheets and totalling 3,234 minutes played.

Chelsea also made another signing in this department during the summer, acquiring Filip Jorgensen from Villarreal for a fee of around £20.7m. The 22-year-old has made ten appearances for the Blues so far, conceding just nine goals, keeping four clean sheets and totalling 900 minutes played.

When comparing the three goalkeepers’ performances this season, Kepa has the worst save percentage despite conceding the most shots against him, has conceded the most goals per 90, and has made the fewest passes (mainly down to Bournemouth’s direct playstyle).

The two current Chelsea options have performed better, making more saves despite facing fewer shots, conceding fewer goals per 90, making more passes per 90 and stopping more crosses/commanding their area better.

Considering both Sanchez and Jorgensen are performing better and are on lower wages – earning £60k-per-week and £50k-per-week, respectively – Chelsea should certainly look to move the Granovskaia signing on at the end of the season, whether that is to Bournemouth on a permanent deal or elsewhere.