When Chelsea signed goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga in 2018 he cost them a then club-record £71million, £6million more than the next most expensive no.1 in world football - Alisson Becker.
Former Blues stopper Thibaut Courtois is third on the goalkeeper price list with Chelsea receiving £35million for the Belgian.
The true cost of Kepa, however, is far greater than just the transfer fee. The Spaniard picks up a weekly wage in the region of £150,000, double that of Blues current no.1 Edouard Mendy.
Senegalese international Mendy was signed after Kepa was no longer deemed reliable enough to hold down a starting spot under former boss Frank Lampard.
The 29-year-old has remained no.1 under new boss Thomas Tuchel since the German replaced Lampard in January and has proved to be far better value for money than Kepa.
A study conducted by bettingodds.com has compared all the Premier League goalkeeper's save to salary ratio and how many clean sheets each 'keeper has made in relation to their weekly wage, and it is not good news for Kepa.
The 26-year-old is the costliest goalkeeper based on clean sheet to salary earned in the 2020-21 season to date, Kepa has just one clean sheet to his name, albeit from only four starts, with his cost per clean sheet coming in at a whopping £5.54m in wages.
Mendy comes out at a much more economical £205,263 per clean sheet having kept 13 in 23 Premier League matches, ranking sixth on the list behind Brighton's Robert Sanchez, Illan Meslier of Leeds United, Nick Pope at Burnley, Aston Villa stopper Emiliano Martinez and Manchester City's Ederson.
Unfortunately for Kepa he also appears high on the list of most expensive goalkeepers based on saves made to salary earned.
With an annual salary of £7.8million and having received £5.75million of that already this campaign, each of his 12 saves have come in at a cost of £478,947 per save for the Blues.
Only Southampton's Fraser Forster, £862,185 per save and Darren Randolph of West Ham, £497,368 have cost their clubs more per save so far this season.
Kepa may be costing the club a pretty penny but these numbers are further proof if it were needed that the £22m spent on Mendy was a far better decision than the eye watering numbers the club drooped on Kepa.
