Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has joined Real Madrid on a loan deal for the rest of the season.
The Spanish giants moved to sign the 28-year-old after Thibaut Courtois suffered an ACL injury that will keep him out of action for the rest of the season.
Real had also been linked with a move for former Manchester United shot stopper David De Gea and Seville’s Yassine Bounou. It’s the second time De Gea has missed out on a dream move to the Bernabeu following the infamous fax machine incident that scuppered his deadline day transfer in 2015.
Chelsea spent £25 million to buy Robert Sanchez from Brighton earlier on in the summer transfer window to provide competition for Kepa Arrizabalaga, who joined the Blues in 2018 for £71m, a world-record fee for a goalkeeper.
But Kepa’s move to Madrid saw Sanchez make his first competitive start for the Blues on Sunday, helping the side earn a 1-1 draw with Liverpool.
The west London outfit are in the market for a new goalkeeper, with just Lucas Bergstrom in reserve. Marcus Bettinelli is currently recovering from an injury.
Chelsea have been linked with a move for former Leicester City goalie Kasper Schmeichel.
The Denmark international signed for Nice last summer and made 46 appearances in all competitions for the Ligue 1 side last season.
Chelsea view Schmeichel as an ideal option to compete alongside Sanchez for the club’s number one position, with the 36-year-old boasting a wealth of Premier League experience having spent 11 seasons at Leicester City before his move to France.
Nottingham Forest have also been linked with signing the Danish shot-stopper this summer. However, they have already signed Matt Turner from Arsenal and are still interested in signing Man United’s Dean Henderson.
Meanwhile, Chelsea look set to complete the signing of Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo this week for a British record transfer fee of £115 million.
