Kepa’s future to be decided after FA Cup final as Chelsea ‘weigh up’ bid for Henderson — reports

Everyone’s made up their minds about Kepa Arrizabalaga at this point, but that doesn’t mean his future is set in stone. In fact, it’s far from certain what will happen with him, in either the short-term (Caballero surely will start the FA Cup final) or the long-term (loan? sale? sit on the bench? start?).

And that’s in part because Chelsea right now are only concentrating on the aforementioned FA Cup final. No talks with Kepa regarding his situation or his future will occur until next week, at the earliest. And even then, the outcome of said talks may not be what everyone has assumed they would be.

According to the Telegraph, there’s been “no fallout” between Kepa and Frank Lampard, although there is a “growing mutual acceptance” that a change of scenery might be the best solution for all involved — both for Kepa’s confidence and career and Chelsea’s prospects and ambitions.

While Chelsea can sell the 25-year-old for a heavily discounted fee, a (long-term?) loan move seems to be the more likely mode of departure, with the Blues paying a percentage of his wages.

The Daily Mail is reporting on similar lines, claiming that Chelsea won’t listen to offers below £50m, which no one will pay right now. Sending Kepa away temporarily could in theory prevent his valuation from falling even further, so he could then be sold in a year or two for a better amount in a stronger economy.

Should Chelsea be able to offload Kepa, we might be looking towards Dean Henderson again/still as a replacement. According to the Daily Mirror, Chelsea are ready to make a £55m bid for the Manchester United loanee while also doubling his current wages. United themselves are trying to sign the 23-year-old to a new long-term contract, but Henderson wants assurances about his future first. But Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s reportedly keeping faith with David De Gea for the time being, which may just provide Chelsea the window of opportunity to capitalize on the situation.

However, should Chelsea be unable to offload Kepa, even on a temporary deal, we might have to settle for pursuing a less-expensive goalkeeper to compete with him instead.

Stay tuned!