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What's the story?
According to several reports, Real Madrid are closing in on their long-term target Thibaut Courtois, who could make a switch from Chelsea to Los Blancos before the transfer window closes, with only one year left on his contract with the Blues.
And if the deal gets over the line, Chelsea will have to find an able replacement for the Belgian ace who can man their posts in the upcoming season. As per Metro, the Pensioners have earmarked Athletic Bilbao's Kepa Arrizabalaga as an apt alternative to Courtois and are ready to trigger his €80 million (£71m) release clause before the Thursday's deadline, which could make him the most expensive goalkeeper of all-time.
If the aforementioned report is to be believed, the Premier League outfit is ready to offer the Spaniard a five-year contract worth £100,000 a week.
In case you didn't know...
After a string of impressive performances for Athletic Bilbao in the past couple of seasons, Kepa Arrizabalaga has established himself as one of the best shot-stoppers across Europe.
Consequently, the 23-year-old has caught the eye of a number of high-profile clubs, including Real Madrid who were close to signing him in January, but the deal fell through owing to a disagreement between Zinedine Zidane and Florentino Perez.
The heart of the matter
With Courtois' departure from Stamford Bridge a huge reality, Chelsea have been linked with many top-quality goalkeepers over the past few days such as Jack Butland, Petr Čech, Kasper Schmeichel and even Jordan Pickford.
Nevertheless, no deal has been clinched thus far, and there is still uncertainty looming over Chelsea's goalkeeping position.
Rumour probability/rating: 7/10
Many other reliable sources have confirmed Chelsea's interest in Kepa Arrizabalaga.
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What's next?
With the transfer window closing on 9 August this year, Chelsea will have to put their skates on if they are intent on pulling off this marquee signing.
