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Chelsea’s shock 3-2 defeat at the hands of West Ham United on Wednesday meant that the top four race got a bit more complicated going into the final six matchdays of the 2019/20 Premier League season.
Frank Lampard’s Blues are battling Manchester United, Leicester City, Wolves, Arsenal, Sheffield United, and Tottenham Hotspur for the third and fourth positions in the table. However, with the verdict of Manchester City’s European ban due to be announced in the coming weeks, there remains a major possibility that fifth place can also guarantee Champions League football.
As things stand, Chelsea are well-positioned to finish the season strongly, especially after they displayed their talents and capabilities in the 2-1 win over City last week. Christian Pulisic and Willian have been the Londoners’ stand-out performers of late with the duo scoring a combined five goals since the restart.
However, the only concern for Lampard and fans would be their goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. The Spaniard has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons ever since his arrival from Atletico Bilbao for a record-breaking fee of £72m. Kepa has been constantly scrutinised for his lacklustre performances in goal for Chelsea, with his save percentage being one of the lowest in the top five European leagues.
With another unassertive and unconvincing performance at the London Stadium, Lampard could well and truly run out of patience with his number one.
In this section, we take a look at five alternatives for Kepa Arrizabalaga at Stamford Bridge.
5. Pau Lopez
Chelsea have been heavily linked with Roma’s number one Pau Lopez in a deal that could cost them less than half of what they paid for Kepa. The Spanish goalkeeper has had an impressive debut season with the Giallorossi after the huge void left by Alisson Becker.
Lopez is just 25 years old and he has already shown that he has excellent feet and some incredible reflexes. Roma, however, are suffering from some significant financial troubles because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic which has reflected in their balance sheet.
The players and management, therefore, have had to take a voluntary pay-cut for four months to control the economic situation at the club.
In such a scenario, Roma could well and truly be forced to cash-in on one of their star players. The Italian giants possess some of Europe’s most eye-catching players in Nicolo Zaniolo, Justin Kluivert, and Cengiz Under. But it looks like goalkeeper Pau Lopez could be the player who is sacrificed.
Chelsea are closely monitoring the situation at Roma and have shown interest in bringing the talented goalie to Stamford Bridge. News coming out from Spain suggests that Roma would be willing to sell Lopez for £36m.
Chelsea, however, will have to battle local rivals Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United for his signature with both clubs keen to acquire his services.
It is still not known whether Frank Lampard wants to bring Pau Lopez in order to replace Kepa, who himself has been linked with Valencia, or to provide much-needed competition to the Spaniard at Chelsea.
4. Alex Meret
Then 19-year-old Udinese goalkeeper Alex Meret was linked with Chelsea under Antonio Conte when reports surfaced that Thibaut Courtois could be on his way out of Stamford Bridge.
The deal obviously never materialised but the Italian shot-stopper’s performances at Napoli have once again made him of considerable interest from the Premier League heavyweights.
With Kepa’s future uncertain, Lampard could be looking to bring in the 23-year-old to shore up his goalkeeping frailties. Meret is said to be an extremely agile goalkeeper, known for his reactions, shot-stopping, and handling inside the box.
Former Chelsea goalkeeper Marco Amelia recently claimed that he informed the club about Meret’s talents when he was at Udinese and backed him as a future player for the Blues. The 38-year-old, who only spent one season at Chelsea as the third-choice goalkeeper under Courtois and Asmir Begovic, said:
“For me, Meret is among the best out there. When I was at Chelsea, I recommended him as a name to the goalkeeper coach, because he's a great prospect and has shown excellent things both at the beginning of his career and in Naples.”
The Center International d’Etude du Sport, or CIES, recently came out with their biannual transfer value list in which Alex Meret makes the top 10 most valuable goalkeepers in the world at €35.7 million.
If Chelsea are to challenge for the title next season, there is no arguing that they will have to tighten up in goal.
3. Dean Henderson
Many fans and pundits wrote off new boys Sheffield United at the start of the season claiming that their relative lack of experience in the Premier League could cut short their stay in the English top-flight.
However, Chris Wilder’s men have stunned everybody with their resolute performances this season. They are now fighting to secure European football for next season. Much of the credit for their impressive displays has to go to goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
The 23-year-old has turned heads across the country with his exploits in goal. Henderson has 12 clean-sheets in the Premier League, on par with Alisson and one less than Nick Pope in first.
On loan from Manchester United, the Old Trafford faithful are already calling out the Englishman to usurp David De Gea as soon as next season following the Spaniard’s goalkeeping wobbles.
Sheffield have the third-best defensive record in the division, conceding just 32 goals. Only league leaders and recently-crowned champions Liverpool, Manchester United, and Leicester City (both United and Leicester have conceded 31 goals) boast a better record at the back.
Henderson is not a modern ball-playing goalkeeper, which is why Gareth Southgate prefers Jordan Pickford over him for the national team. However, the Blades' custodian makes it up by being one of the best shot-stoppers in the league. He has tremendous reactions, remarkable command in the box and, most importantly, extremely safe hands.
Multiple reports have suggested that Chelsea are growing frustrated with underperforming Kepa and are planning a huge £50m bid in order to lure Dean Henderson to Stamford Bridge.
With De Gea still the number one for choice for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Frank Lampard might be led to believe that Chelsea could swoop in for the talented youngster to sort out the goalkeeping department at the club.
2. Nick Pope
There is no doubting that the Premier League boasts two of the world’s best goalkeepers in Alisson and Ederson. Many would think that the Brazilian duo would be the only two competitors for the prestigious Golden Glove award, given Liverpool and Manchester City’s superiority in the past few years.
The Burnley shot-stopper has 13 clean sheets to his name this season and is only trumped by Alisson - who has 14 - whilst Ederson has 13 to his name too.
The Englishman has had a sensational campaign at Turf Moor which has seen Burnley cement their position in the top half of the league table. Sean Dyche’s side have been excellent defensively with the centre-back partnership of James Tarkowski and Ben Mee has been rock-solid in front of Pope.
The 28-year-old goalkeeper, meanwhile, should be in genuine contention to replace Jordan Pickford as Gareth Southgate’s number one 'keeper for England. The Everton goalie has largely underwhelmed for the Three Lions which could see Southgate deploy Pope as his permanent choice.
Pope did not have it easy throughout his career. He endured eight loan spells before getting his big break at Burnley after first-choice keeper Tom Heaton dislocated his shoulder.
But he has since earned England call-ups, helped the Clarets secure Europa League football, and is now battling to be the Premier League’s best goalkeeper this season.
Frank Lampard and the Chelsea hierarchy would obviously be well aware of Nick Pope’s incredible growth at Burnley. Being an established Premier League player and a future England star could be two vital reasons he could be one of the top targets for Chelsea if they are to replace Kepa.
1. Andre Onana
Perhaps, best suited to replace Kepa Arrizabalaga at Chelsea is Ajax keeper Andre Onana. The Cameroonian number one has been regularly rumoured to be one of Chelsea’s top targets because of his ever-increasing stock as one of Europe’s most promising goalies.
Onana is incredibly strong and commanding, possesses quick reactions, and is also extremely comfortable on the ball. The 24-year-old is the prototype modern goalkeeper and could become a superstar in the Premier League like Alisson and Ederson.
Chelsea have already signed one of Ajax’s prized gems in Hakim Ziyech and it looks like the Blues aren’t done with raiding last year’s Champions League semi-finalists yet. Left-back Nicolas Tagliafico is also heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge if Chelsea fail to meet Leicester City’s £60m-plus valuation for Ben Chilwell.
And Kepa’s failures at West Ham have once again left the Chelsea hierarchy scratching their heads after making him the world’s most expensive goalkeeper two years ago.
News from Spain has emerged stating that 25-year-old could be sent out on a two-year loan to Valencia which could create a domino effect in the transfer market.
The La Liga outfit reportedly want to get rid of Jasper Cillessen, who is no longer first-choice at the club, with former club Ajax his most likely destination. This, in turn, could see Onana move to Chelsea.
Having played for the Barcelona youth team for five years, Onana has been consistently linked with the Spanish giants. However, he will not comply in becoming an understudy to Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who still has many years left in him.
That makes him a no-brainer for Chelsea, who could land him by paying a fee in the region of £30 to £40 million. The domestic double-holder recently revealed that he is ready for a new challenge.
“It was five great years here, but now my time has come to take a step. I don’t yet know what will happen, but my ambitions and agreements are clear,” he said.
Even manager Erik ten Hag was not convinced that his first-choice goalkeeper will stay at the Johan Cruyff Arena next season.
“Andre is very important to us and of course we don’t want to lose him. But it’s true that we have an agreement from last year about the development scenario and what steps we will take if the right club comes in at the right price,” the Dutchman said.
Frank Lampard and Chelsea will surely be licking their lips this prospect.
