Enzo Maresca must solve his goalkeeping conundrum this summer.Enzo Maresca must solve his goalkeeping conundrum this summer.
Enzo Maresca must solve his goalkeeping conundrum this summer. | AFP via Getty Images
The Blues must solve the goalkeeping crisis currently hanging over Stamford Bridge come the end of the season.
AFC Bournemouth are reportedly confident of beating Chelsea to the signing of wantaway Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher this summer in what could present a double transfer blow to Enzo Maresca.
The Blues manager has flip flopped between the error-prone Robert Sanchez and the £20 million Filip Jorgensen this season. Maresca doesn’t appear to be convinced by either choice and it’s left him with somewhat of a debacle in west London.
There’s a feeling that neither shot-stopper is performing at a high enough level to nail down the number one role and the constant speculation is only serving to add pressure on the players. Maresca has proven in the past that he is not afraid of making bold calls with his squad and shipping out or even freezing out first team stars.
Chelsea risk being beaten to Liverpool transfer coup
The Sun reports that Kelleher has been earmarked as the answer to that goalkeeping conundrum for Chelsea but that their Premier League rivals Bournemouth are frontrunners with Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United also interested. That’s some blow to Chelsea.
Kelleher is just 26 years old and a player that has proven himself in the Premier League. Even when having to spend large parts of the season on the bench at Anfield, when called upon, he has taken no time to settle in and that reliability is exactly what Jorgensen and Sanchez lack. In his 18 appearances across competitions this term, he has kept eight clean sheets and his desire to win more minutes points towards a summer transfer exit.
Enzo Maresca should be worried about news that Chelsea could be beaten to that deal and reports of Bournemouth interest come in a double blow. The club’s starting berth between the sticks is currently held by on loan goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The Cherries have no obligation to buy Kepa but it had been touted that Andoni Iraola and the goalkeeper were keen to make that happen. The Sun now claims that Iraola seeks Kelleher as a ‘big improvement’ on Kepa, and he’s likely not wrong there. It would, however, be a nightmare for Kepa to return to Stamford Bridge this summer without that deal becoming permanent.
Should Kepa return to Stamford Bridge, he will surely need to be moved on. The Blues cannot have the Spaniard on their books at the same time as Sanchez and Jorgensen, while also in the market for another first team goalkeeper. The problem is Kepa is contracted until 2026, so any exit would have to come with a fee and the Blues paid a staggering £71.6 million to sign the player in 2018.
Kepa ‘happy’ at AFC Bournemouth
It was never likely AFC Bournemouth would meet that figure and if there’s an upcoming splurge on Kelleher, that is an even less likely scenario.
Kepa has made 25 appearances in all competitions this term and earned the praise of Iraola. Former Man Utd and Blackburn Rovers chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider: “Arrizabalaga has spent the season on loan at Bournemouth. He’s been doing really well there and he’s established himself as a major part of that side.
“From what I hear, he doesn’t want to go back to Chelsea, he’s happy at Bournemouth. He’s been able to get away from all the pressure he was under playing for Chelsea and just focus on his game and that’s been clear to see in his performances. I think playing under Iraola has helped him too, he looks more confident in that side.
“What do Chelsea do about that, though, because they want a goalkeeper and he’s only on loan. These things are never straight forward, there’s always different issues involved. The two clubs will have to come to some sort of agreement if he wants to stay at Bournemouth and Bournemouth want to keep him. But it will be up to Chelsea at the end of the day because he’s still their player.”
In other news, this is how Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur fare in a new look Premier League table without VAR.