The Chelsea goalkeeping situation was mentioned in Simon Johnson’s news update in The Athletic. Kepa Arrizabalaga is at the heart of the update as he is unhappy with his role as back-up to Edouard Mendy.
Arrizabalaga has his eyes set on making it into Spain’s World Cup squad and knows that he needs consistent first-team football if he is to make that a reality. Newcastle United are reportedly interested in signing the want-away goalkeeper but this would leave Chelsea with just two goalkeepers in their squad.
Update on Chelsea Goalkeeping Situation
Clear First-Choice
Chelsea’s main issue is that they already have a locked-on first-choice goalkeeper. Edouard Mendy has been nothing short of excellent since joining the club and isn’t likely to be unseated anytime soon. As this Kepa Arrizabalaga situation shows, no good goalkeeper is going to be happy to play second fiddle for very long, meaning Chelsea will need to get creative in order to find a backup who will be happy to bench warm for most of the season.
Options
The Athletic’s report names a number of potential signings Chelsea could make. Chelsea’s first choice is seemingly Gabriel Slonina from Chicago Fire. The issue with Slonina is that he has just turned 18 and is likely someone that should be given time to develop. Academy product Nathan Baxter is also named as a potential option. Baxter came through Chelsea’s academy and graduated in 2016, he has since embarked on seven different loan spells in the lower leagues with varying success.
While Thomas Tuchel has been known to trust academy players, it may be asking too much to trust the backup spot to a player who failed to become the first choice in the Scottish Premiership, League One, or the Championship. While Baxter is no doubt experienced he hasn’t proven his quality beyond the English National League.
