Sarri’s Lazio to try again for Kepa Arrizabalaga next summer — report

Kepa Arrizabalaga was briefly linked with an exit to Lazio this past summer, but any such notions were quickly squashed as Chelsea continued the successful arrangement of having UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year Édouard Mendy backed up by the world’s most expensive goalkeeper.

But while Kepa’s performed admirably as Edou’s backup — including heroic turns in back-to-back penalty shootouts, in the UEFA Super Cup (when he was put on specifically as a super-sub for the shootout), and in the League Cup third round — he’s hinted at this situation not exactly being his ideal situation. And that’s certainly understandable: every player wants to play and wants to start, and if they don’t, they don’t really belong at a top level team.

So that whole situation will certainly need revisiting in the summer, and we already have future rumors in that regard from Corriere dello Sport (via Daily Mail), who claim that Lazio still have Kepa’s name at the top of their list. Lazio’s current goalkeepers, a nearly 40-year-old Pepe Reina and backup Thomas Strakosha, are both in the final year of their contracts, which could open up the opportunity for Kepa to be Maurizio Sarri’s No.1 once again.

Of course we would be looking at having to do a loan, with Chelsea paying half of Kepa’s salary, but we’re unlikely to find a better arrangement anywhere.

The report does make it clear that no move would be sanctioned in January, with Mendy set to miss a month due to the Africa Cup of Nations, where he’s set to represent Senegal in their quest to do one better than last time out, when they lost to Algeria in the final.