Real Madrid have signed goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga on loan from Chelsea, the Spanish club have confirmed.
Madrid signed Kepa after number one goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois injured his ACL in training last week.
Courtois is expected to be out for around seven months, meaning back-up goalkeeper Andriy Lunin started in Madrid’s 2-0 La Liga win over Athletic Club on Saturday.
Kepa almost joined Madrid from Athletic in January 2018, but a change of plans meant the club opted to sign Courtois later that year.
Kepa then replaced Courtois at Chelsea for a record fee of 80 million euros ($87.6 million) for a goalkeeper.
The Spain international endured a difficult five years at Stamford Bridge.
He was the number one choice for the first two seasons but lost his place in the squad to Édouard Mendy and then regained the starting role in the 2022-23 season.
Chelsea signed Kepa’s Spanish team-mate Robert Sánchez from Brighton as their new signing last week.
Kepa is certainly no stranger to the atmosphere of the Spanish League. The reason is, Kepa is a former Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper who later moved to Chelsea in 2018.
When he came to Chelsea, Kepa was burdened with a lot of expectations. He was even under contract for seven seasons.
But Kepa’s career at Chelsea was not entirely smooth. He made several blunders and was knocked out of the first team position due to the presence of Edouard Mendy.
Last season, Kepa managed to regain his place in the first team. However, the presence of Robert Sanchez as a new player at the Blues means that Kepa’s position in the regular team this season is not guaranteed.
Courtois’ long-term injury meant Madrid moved quickly to find an affordable and experienced replacement.
ESPN reports that coach Carlo Ancelotti initially wanted to sign Yassine Bounou from Sevilla, but the demands of Sevilla’s fees and his involvement in the Africa Cup of Nations in January weighed heavily on him.
Kepa was close to joining Bayern Munich but terminated the deal when Madrid became interested in Madrid signing him.
Ancelotti showed his support for Lunin ahead of Madrid’s league debut at Athletic, saying he has ‘complete faith’ in the player, but admitting a lack of experience could force him to leave.
“I’m very calm. We have to think about it,” Ancelotti said on Friday as quoted by ESPN.
“We have until [August] 31. If we are thinking about signing a goalkeeper, it is about numbers,” he continued.
