Kepa Arrizabalaga is on loan at Real Madrid (Photo: Getty)
Kepa Arrizabalaga has admitted he would ‘love’ to sign for Real Madrid on a permanent basis from Chelsea.
The Spain international left Chelsea on loan over the summer with Real desperate for a new goalkeeper after Thibaut Courtois suffered a long-term injury.
The Belgian, who, ironically, was replaced by Kepa when he himself left Stamford Bridge in 2018, tore his ACL in August and is not expected to be back until around next March.
Kepa was expected to leave west London over the summer, having endured a tough five years at the club and especially after Robert Sanchez was signed from Brighton to replace him.
However, the 29-year-old previously claimed that Mauricio Pochettino actually wanted him to stay and compete with Sanchez for No.1 status, but he opted to join Real feeling he needed a change.
And it now seems that he wants that change to be permanent, telling Spanish TV, as quoted by Fabrizio Romano: Of course I’d love to stay at Real Madrid in the future.
‘Who doesn’t want to stay at this club? I’m very, very happy here.’
Kepa’s Chelsea contract expires in 2025 (Photo: Getty)
Kepa has made nine appearances for Los Blancos so far, keeping five clean sheets and conceding just seven goals to help his side go top of the La Liga table.
Come next summer, he’ll have just one year left on his Chelsea contract meaning Real could secure his services for a cut-price fee if they wanted.
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The player became the most expensive goalkeeper of all-time when the Blues signed him from Athletic Bilbao for over £71million, going onto win the Champions League, Europa League and Club World Cup.
However, following his debut campaign, he struggled for form and found himself usurped by Edouard Mendy for a time, and while he wrestled back the No.1 spot last season his performances still came under fire.
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‘I’m very, very happy here.’