• Chelsea agree £35m Courtois fee with Kovacic to move on loan
Kepa Arrizabalaga became the world’s most expensive goalkeeper on Wednesday after completing a £71.6m move from Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea, with the young Spain international signing a seven-year contract to replace Thibaut Courtois at Stamford Bridge.
Kepa will be joined by the Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic after he was secured on loan from Real Madrid. The fee for Kepa eclipses the previous record for a goalkeeper of £66.9m, paid by Liverpool to Roma for Brazil’s No 1, Alisson, last month and the Spaniard could make his debut in Saturday’s opening Premier League fixture at Huddersfield. Real, who will unveil Courtois on Thursday afternoon, had been close to securing the one-time Spain international for £17.9m seven months ago.
Written by Dominic Fifield
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/aug/08/chelsea-kepa-arrizabalaga-athletic-bilbao-transfer under the title “Chelsea sign £71.6m Kepa Arrizabalaga with Courtois set to join Real Madrid”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
