He will join the Merengues on a one-year loan.
Real Madrid needs to rearrange its pieces. Two shocks left him somewhat dismayed. The latest news left the club without Brazilian defender Éder Militao and, a few days earlier, without their benchmark Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, both with knee ligament injuries. Faced with such a scenario, the Merengue club wasted no time in finding a reliable replacement for the goalkeeper and on Monday announced that after negotiating with Chelsea, they had managed to agree a one-year loan deal with Spaniard Kepa Arrizabalaga.
According to a statement from the Merengues, the goalkeeper will be linked to Real Madrid until 30 June 2024. The deal for Kepa was concluded four days after Courtois suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during training and it was confirmed that he will miss much of the season.
Kepa, 28, joins a squad that already included Ukrainian Andriy Lunin, Courtois' understudy. Lunin was in goal last Saturday in the 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao in Spain's La Liga opener. It was not immediately confirmed whether Kepa will start, but all indications are that he will. Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti explained that he has full confidence in Lunin, who at 24 is in his fourth season in Madrid.
Kepa, before this landing in the White House of football, was in negotiations to join Bayern Munich, but the agreement was diluted as soon as the chance to be part of the Merengue team led by Carlo Ancelotti arose. Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen revealed last Sunday that they were looking for Kepa to replace Manuel Neuer, who has not played since the World Cup in Qatar after suffering a broken leg in a skiing accident.
Kepa became the world's most expensive goalkeeper when he was signed by Chelsea in 2018, who were looking for a replacement for Courtois and decided to sign the Spanish keeper for 80 million euros, the biggest deal for a goalkeeper in the history of English football.
The 28-year-old goalkeeper from Ondarroa was the one who pushed hardest to arrive in Madrid and will be presented this Tuesday at Real Madrid's Ciudad Deportiva in Valdebebas.
Courtois' recovery.
Real Madrid are in the midst of planning interventions for Militao and Courtois' injuries. According to Spanish newspaper AS, they are scheduled to undergo surgery to repair the ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in their left knee this Thursday or Friday. Militao's case will not be treated until next week.
With Courtois, they have waited a week to determine the exact state of the joint once the area has been de-inflated. The Belgian is wearing a bandage on his entire leg to immobilise the affected left knee and has been undergoing very light treatment, while waiting for the club to define the exact guidelines for the operation, which could be under the orders of Dr Manuel Leyes, a specialist in this type of sports injury.
Source images: Eurosport.
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