• Premier.Mourinho sinks a little more to the City of Guardiola
  • Classification: This is the English League

The most expensive goalkeeper in the history of world football today is the substitute of a 38-year-old goalkeeper who has not played regularly for six seasons. That difficult, even raw, is the reality that Kepa Arrizabalaga is currently going through in Chelsea. His mistakes during this season and the increasingly undisputed public criticism of his coach, Frank Lampard , were reflected last Saturday in the duel against Leicester, third place in the Premier League, in which Willy Caballero was the starter. Kepa watched the game from the bench with the well-founded intuition that this may be the destination for the remainder of the season. Looking ahead, he already knows from Lampard himself that he does not enter his plans and that it is best to find another team if he wants to play .

How did a goalkeeper get through that Chelsea paid 80 kilos a year and a half ago , the hero who a handful of months ago led the Blues to the final of the Europa League, the owner of a team like the Spanish ? The statistical analysis of his season certainly helps to understand why Lampard has finally made the decision to send him to the bench. Kepa is the goalkeeper with the worst stop index in the Premier League. 31 of the 72 shots on goal that this course has received have ended up being a goal, which translates into a 56% stop percentage . The cold numbers.

To put the data in context, the next in the ranking is Pickford (Everton) with 64% and the ranking is led by Alisson (Liverpool) with 86% , 30 points more than Kepa. Last season, however, the Spanish stopped 67% of the shots received, the seventh most among those who played at least 30 games. In absolute numbers, the Spaniard is also the goalkeeper who makes fewer stops per game (1.71) and Chelsea is the most thrashed team in the top eight in the standings . In short, its performance has been far from expected in a goalkeeper in its category. Now why?

Rupture with his girlfriend

His most personal environment is clear one of the main reasons for his performance downturn: the recent break with his girlfriend of a lifetime. "He's having a hard time," explains a good friend. His partner went with him to London when he left Athletic and has been his main support until the relationship ended. His parents, who continue to live in Ondarroa, try to spend time with him, but his emotional moment is quite low. This is joined by the fact that he lives in the Chelsea neighborhood, while most of his classmates do it outside, more than an hour away, which makes their social relations with the rest of the dressing room difficult . Pedro is his main support in the booth, as was Morata before signing for Atlético, now a year ago. Although he understands it perfectly, his difficulties in mastering spoken English do not help either.

Beyond that personal aspect, his relationship with Lampard has never been excellent. There is not much feeling between him and an eminently British coach, who has bet in these months to recover the spirit of Chelsea quarry, with bets like Abraham, Mount, Tomori or James . At first, it was interpreted as a measure forced by the sanction without being able to make signings. However, Chelsea has already been able to sign in January and has not done so. Lampard wants to light a Chelsea of ​​the future to suit him and the way to do it has raised certain blisters in the dressing room. In summer, he showed the exit door to David Luiz in a way that bothered the booth sector with which Kepa has greater affinity.

Despite all these factors, the Biscay had retained ownership due, mainly, to the limited competition offered by Caballero. Finally, Lampard has taken the step of making the change in the goal. «It is a decision that, because of its relevance, is not taken lightly. Both have a similar level and work hard during the week, ”argued the English coach after drawing against Leicester. A few days before, he issued a notice that has been definitive: "Kepa is honest and knows that he has made mistakes that have cost us goals, he knows that he has to improve . " With the European Championship just around the corner, Kepa is aware of the urgency of regaining Lampard's confidence. If that, at this point, is still possible.

The doubts in the Selection

In his first stage as a Spanish coach, David de Gea was Luis Enrique's bet for the goal. Then Robert Moreno arrived and gave ownership to Kepa. For both, Pau López was the third goalkeeper. Now, it remains to be seen what the hierarchy will be with the Spaniard back to the front of the team, since none of the three have a good time in their clubs, an important problem only four months after the start of the European Championship. De Gea had accustomed in recent years to shine in the goal of Manchester United in striking contrast to the doubts he offered with the shirt of Spain. This course, however, has ceased to be the saving hero of the 'Red Devils', which continue in full drift to nowhere. For the first time in almost a decade at Old Trafford, De Gea is discussed and feels the threat of Dean Henderson, bright, low sticks in the Sheffield where he is loaned by Manchester United. Pau, meanwhile, is going from more to less in his first season in Rome. A serious mistake of his cost him the tie to his team in the derby with Lazio and has just conceded four goals this Saturday. Outside of this trio, names like Simón, Remiro, Aitor, Guaita or Pacheco lack the hierarchy and experience necessary to compete for the Spanish goal.

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