When Chelsea made Kepa Arrizabalaga the world’s most expensive goalkeeper in the summer of 2018, it was through the necessity of circumstances rather than any grand planning.
Thibaut Courtois had established himself as the Blues long-term number one and an elite goalkeeper, but his contract situation and personal insistence forced a move to Real Madrid.
That created a messy situation for all parties. In the Spanish capital, Courtois eventually established himself as the preferred choice ahead of the well-liked and capable Keylor Navas, who eventually joined Paris Saint-Germain last summer. It also left Chelsea in desperate need of a replacement at short notice in a fundamental position.
The previous season, it had been heavily reported that Madrid would sign Kepa from Athletic Club Bilbao. It was believed that the Spaniard would be able to provide competition to Navas, although few believed he had the potential to replace the Costa Rican as the established first choice.
Madrid were close to activating his then £17.9million release clause, but the move was vetoed by Zinedine Zidane. He insisted that he had total faith in Navas, and such a lavish fee should not be spent on a player who would not clearly be first choice.
Athletic are one of world football’s most financially stable clubs, partly due to their policy of signing only players with Basque roots - meaning incomings are limited to a maximum of two to three players per season - while tending to only sell players when their legal release clauses were met.
When Madrid got cold feet over Kepa, they agreed an improved contract with the shot-stopper which multiplied his clause to £71.6million.
It has been clear since Kepa moved to Stamford Bridge that he was a bracket below that of Courtois and - while a highly capable top-level goalkeeper - was not at the level to be a key part of a title-winning team.
Kepa’s form has been up and down this season and Frank Lampard eventually lost patience after the turn of the year. Caballero, 38, replaced Kepa between the sticks for Lampard’s side during a run of matches in February including crucial games against Leicester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich. Caballero’s form was equally inconsistent and Kepa was reinstated.
Kepa has often been selected as the Spanish national team goalkeeper ahead of David de Gea and this development is causing concerns for fans of La Roja ahead of the rescheduled European Championships.
De Gea has suffered a slump in form for Manchester United and has never fully convinced at international level as he has done at Old Trafford. Multiple high-profile errors - most notably Cristiano Ronaldo’s weak second strike in the World Cup opener against Portugal in 2018 - made the United man vulnerable at international level, while there are now suggestions Dean Henderson may oust him at club level in the near future.
The England-based duo remain Spain’s two highest profile goalkeepers despite their continued patchy form at club level. Roma’s Pau Lopez is third choice, but doubts remain over his form ceiling too. Kepa started six of La Roja’s 10 European Championships qualifiers, with De Gea making three starts and Lopez one.
It is fair to assume that - despite managerial uncertainty, with Luis Enrique back in the role to replace Robert Moreno - Kepa had established himself as Spain’s first choice, but this is now far from a certainty.
The postponement of the European Championships by 12 months could change everything, allowing each player a chance to re-find form and even the possibility for younger hopefuls to break through.
But as things stand, Kepa’s uncertain future at Stamford Bridge has left the Spanish national side with a sizable headache of their own.
