Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek has insisted that there are areas in which new goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is better than former keeper Thibaut Courtois.
Courtois left Stamford Bridge in the summer transfer window to join Real Madrid. The Belgian has since been appointed to be the first-choice shot-stopper of the reigning European champions.
His departure from the Blues was not on good terms and if he does one day return to Stamford Bridge to play against his former club, one can expect the reception to be negative.
However, things have not according to plan for him since arriving in Spain. Madrid have been struggling by their standards in the La Liga, experiencing five losses from the 14 games they have played so far.
Once Courtois left, the Blues opted to bring in Kepa from La Liga side Athletico Bilbao as his replacement. At 24 years old, Kepa is still a fairly young keeper and has a lot to learn. However, he has quality and is good with the ball on his feet. He has also demonstrated his class by managing to keep 11 clean sheets from 19 games thus far.
If there is one area where the Blues have invested well in over the years, it has been in their goalkeeping department. Their past three long-term first-choice keepers (Courtois, Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini) were all considered to be the arguably the greatest keepers in the league at one point.
Kepa certainly has the potential to also reach that level.
As reported by The Standard, Loftus-Cheek said of his team-mate: “Kepa is not the tallest compared to Thibaut, but he is so good with his feet. It just makes you feel comfortable when he is in possession. It is what we need with the boss wanting us to play out from the back. He has been a really great addition.”
