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Chelsea has confirmed the signing of Kepa Arrizabalaga on a seven-year deal. The deal made the Spanish keeper the most expensive goalie in the world, as he cost the Blues £71.6 million. Signing the 23-year-old would mean that Chelsea has finally found their replacement for Thibaut Courtois who was sold to Real Madrid in a €35 million deal.
Amidst his uncertain future at Chelsea, Courtois had initially mentioned that he would leave with Eden Hazard and both of them would remain on the same team. That looks unlikely now as there is no word on Hazard's move away from Chelsea. At the same time, Olivier Giroud had talked about Hazard and him trying to convince Nabil Fekir to join Stamford Bridge. Judging by how things have progressed, the 26-year-old goalkeeper could be the only way on the way to Spain.
The keeper had made 154 appearances each for both Chelsea and Atletico Madrid. In the process, he kept 58 clean sheets for the English club and 76 clean sheets for the Spanish club. According to WhoScored, Courtois is excellent in reflex saves and saving close range shots. During his time with the Blues, he had worked his way up and deputize Petr Cech as the first choice keeper.
At Real Madrid, there are a couple of senior keepers namely Keylor Navas and Kiko Casilla. The Belgian star would probably be named in the starting line-up immediately. For both the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2016, Courtois had been awarded the Golden Glove award.
There is no doubt about his quality given that he had loads of experience in both English Premier League and La Liga. Real Madrid should be rejoicing over the deal even though they failed to secure Hazard. However, they are also feeling that an injustice has been done to Navas because of the deal. Here is how Twitter reacted to the piece of news.
