Chelsea to incur eye-watering €55m loss on record signing

Tom Weber

• Updated: 23 Jan 2024 17:23 GMT
• 3 min read

Chelsea have put a €25 million price tag on Kepa Arrizabalaga, according to Spanish media.

The goalkeeper, currently on loan at Real Madrid, is having a mixed season. Los Blancos' undisputed starter early on, having been specifically signed to deputise for Thibaut Courtois after his ACL injury, Kepa has himself regularly dealt with fitness issues.

Some unimpressive performances - and, in turn, the impressive showings of backup Andriy Lunin - have led to the Basque shot-stopper being anything but the unchallenged number one at this point. Indeed, it is claimed that Real Madrid will not make his stay at the Santiago Bernabeu permanent in the summer.

That is at least according to Sport, which also reports that Chelsea have slapped a €25m asking price on Kepa's head. The Spaniard has already publically admitted that he has no intention to return to Stamford Bridge in the summer, but he may be left with no choice.

Kepa's fall from grace

The 29-year-old's value has been on a steep downward trajectory since he signed for the Blues for a world-record fee for a goalkeeper. Chelsea shelled out a whopping €80m on the then-Athletic Club man in 2018, some €65m in excess of his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) at the time.

After a brief boost in value in 2020/2021, peaking at close to €60m in January 2021, Kepa's ETV fell off a cliff and has been steadily sitting in the region of €17m since November of that same year.

So at this point, even Chelsea's measly asking price - which, if someone were to match it, would see them incur a loss of €55m - is some way in excess of his real value. Taking this into account, it is therefore not at all surprising that Real Madrid have no interest in keeping him around.