Kepa Arrizabalaga
Former Real Madrid goalkeeper looks set to join Cherries The Spanish stopper spent last season on loan at Real Madrid but is set to head to the south coast for a season-long loan. He is currently undergoing the tests after signing a contract extension with his parent club in London, allowing him to move on loan for the 2024/25 season. There is reportedly no buy option or obligation to buy after the loan is complete for Cherries . Speaking to the media on the potential move,
Andoni Iraola said “It’s a little bit like the situation we had with Evanilson. “We can say that things are happening, you know, but still, it’s not our player and we have to wait and see how the situation finishes.”
When asked if the Basque manager knows the ‘keeper from their time at Athletic Bilbao together, he said:
Andoni Iraola said “I think we haven’t played together any game, but I know him. “Obviously I know him because he has been an academy player when I was a first team player for a lot of years, and we have for sure trained together a lot of times, but I don’t think we’ve played together.”
The 29-year-old made 14 appearances in La Liga for the Spanish giants last season, including once off the bench. He also made four appearances in the Champions League and was on the bench for the final, in which Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0. Kepa has made 109 appearances for Chelsea, and 13 for his national side Spain. He began his career in Athletic Bilbao’s youth setup, before moving to Basconia. From there, Kepa moved across to Athletic Bilbao’s B team, where he played between 2013 and 2015, before progressing to the first team. Here he stayed until 2018, at which point he joined Chelsea, after loan spells at Ponferradina and Real Valladolid.
