BEN FOSTER has insisted it is time for Chelsea to get rid of Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The Spanish goalkeeper has endured a rollercoaster experience since moving to Stamford Bridge in a £72m deal in 2018.
The fee remains the highest ever paid for a goalkeeper but Kepa has often failed to impressed during his stay in west London.
He spent much time on the sidelines after the arrival of Edouard Mendy in 2020 as Chelsea sought to replace the error prone keeper.
But injury to the Senegalese stopper – who also lost form at the beginning of this season – reopened the door to Kepa.
Despite clear improvement from his first spell as Chelsea’s main goalie, opinionated podcaster Foster is still far from convinced.
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The former Manchester United and West Brom keeper, who made an extraordinary move to Ryan Reynold’s Wrexham this week, expressed doubt over Kepa after his failure to prevent Everton’s late goal a week ago.
He said: “Let’s talk about Everton’s equaliser because I think Kepa should save it. A top goalkeeper saves that.
“This is a big moment, we’re in injury-time so if he saves that, it’s 2-1, three points, boom, everyone is happy. These are the fine margins but I think a top goalie has to save that.
“It’s a slightly awkward one so I’ve got a bit of sympathy but you need to make those big saves. He fell a little bit short.
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“I don’t think Kepa is the right guy for it, full stop. I don’t think he’s the long-term solution. They spent £70m on Kepa by the way and £25m on Mendy, that’s almost £100m on goalkeepers.”
Ellis Simms’ shot surprisingly sneaking past the keeper is just the latest mistake that has left Blues fans frustrated.
Many also judged Kepa to be culpable for Oliver Skipp’s opener in last month’s loss at Tottenham as well as Riyad Mahrez’s winner for Manchester City at the beginning of January.
But in between the errors have been impressive performances, such as his string of fantastic saves in a win over Aston Villa before the World Cup.
Kepa, 28, has struggled to stay out of the headlines since arriving at Stamford Bridge and normally finds the spotlight on him for one reason or another.
He is probably most famous for the bizarre moment in the League Cup Final of 2019 when he refused Maurizio Sarri’s attempts to sub him off the pitch.
Three years later and he would again find himself at the centre of a cup final storm as he blasted a crucial penalty over the bar to leave Chelsea on the losing end of a shootout against Liverpool.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
