Former Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Green has insisted that Kepa Arrizabalaga still has a future at the club.
Speculation has surrounded the Spanish goalkeeper this season after he was dropped earlier in the campaign by Blues head coach Frank Lampard after a run of poor performances.
Arrizabalaga forced his way back into the first-team before lockdown in mid-March but reports have still linked him with a move away from Stamford Bridge.
However, Green believes that the price tag involved in his transfer from Athletic Bilbao has warped judgement on his overall ability and believes he will be given the chance to prove his worth.
"We're saying Dean Henderson is one for the future, Kepa is 25, it's not like he's a million miles away," Green told BBC Radio 5Live.
"But because of that price tag, you're expecting that bit more. That's the immediate assumption, he's not the finished article, that was never the case with Kepa.
"It was going to happen at some point. You walk off the plane on a Friday afternoon from Belarus or somewhere and you've got to play again on the Sunday lunchtime. It's so hard and it's the first time he's done that.
"This year, it's the Champions League and the pressure is even greater. Maybe the more open style they're playing is dragging into that and they haven't been at tight as last season.
"It's funny at Chelsea. It's not the most transparent in terms of the signings it's making. The manager doesn't always make the decisions. I don't think Mauricio Sarri knew who I was when I signed, let alone give it a stamp of approval.
"You look at that but who is making the decisions. Maybe with Petr Chech, the communications might be better. You talk about timing, those couple of games he had coming back, he got man of the match against Manchester United in the FA Cup.
"If he hadn't have come back with those games, I think this might have been something where you say 'yeah this is a real possibility'. Who Frank is speaking to is another big thing, what their opinion is."
