Kepa Arrizabalaga has spoken about his Chelsea future in an exclusive interview with Marca. The goalkeeper, formerly of Athletic Club, has revealed that while he realises he’s at a huge club he needs to talk to Thomas Tuchel about his future. He wants to play more.
“I’m at a very big club,” he said. “I’ll talk to the coach and we’ll decide, but the clear message is that I want to play more.”
Kepa, born in Ondarroa in the heartland of the Basque Country, joined Athletic’s youth system at the tender age of ten. He took his first steps with feeder club Basconia at 17 before stepping up to Bilbao Athletic the year after. He broke into Athletic’s first team in 2016 after loan spells with Ponferradina and Real Valladolid, joining Chelsea in 2018.
And while he’s practically won the lot at Stamford Bridge – the Europa League, the Champions League, the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup – he’s made just 123 appearances for the club in four years and has lost prominence recently. A fresh start elsewhere might kickstart his team and help him force his way back into the Spain team.
Kepa on his Chelsea future: “I’m at a very big club. I will talk to the coach and we will decide, but with the clear message that I want to play more”, tells @marca. 🔵 #CFC
Thomas Strakosha, one of the main options to replace Kepa for Chelsea as revealed 10 days ago.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 24, 2022