In the 2018/19 season, Chelsea spent €208.8m (£172.4m) Signing three huge permanent deals for Maurizio Sarri while offering two loan deals for Mateo Kovacic and Gonzalo Higuain.
This season, the Blues finished third in the Premier League and claimed the Europa League title with a 4-1 victory over Arsenal in Baku. Jorginho is considered the most important of these signings as he played a key role for Maurizio Sarri at Napoli and will look to bring the Italian midfielder to the Premier League.
But the most expensive signing of that summer was controversial from the outset, from the moment he refused to be substituted to now when it became clear he was not worth the wages he earned for the club.
Chelsea’s costly transfer mistakes
Chelsea sign Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao The cost is approximately £71.6 millionsucceeds Thibaut Courtois, Joined Real Madrid for around £35m In the same summer window.
Speaking at that time, bluesy director marina granovskaya Outlining her excitement at the capture of the 23-year-old, she said:
“Kepa is a talent we have long admired and we are very excited about his arrival.
“He has shown great quality and consistency and will be an important part of Chelsea’s success in the coming years…”
first impression
What did pundits and fans think when their new star arrived? Football FanCast’s First Impressions series has everything you need.
former bilbao man Made 160 appearances for the clubKeeping 59 clean sheets, conceding 175 goals and playing a total of 14,523 minutes, he has largely failed to convince over the past six years or so.
The Spanish goalkeeper has often been criticized for his performances at Chelsea, with pundit Ian Wright specifically stating in 2023 that he was just “made too many mistakes“In fact, in the 2020/21 season, for example, he is leading the way among other goalkeepers in terms of: Errors leading to goals (3).
This 30-year-old is Earn £150,000 a week at Chelseabut is currently on loan to Bournemouth this season. Cherries paid half his salary (£75,000).
But when he returns to the club next season, Kepa will have one year left on his contract until June 2026.
While Chelsea’s goalkeeping position is far from secure, the club hopes to continue paying Kepa Kepa’s high wages, keep their current selection of goalkeepers on more reasonable wages, and potentially seek a new one when the time comes.
How Kepa compares to current Chelsea goalkeepers
Roberto Sanchez joins the club from Brighton in 2023 Cost approximately £25 million. Since joining, the 27-year-old has 36 appearances in all competitionsconceded 48 goals, kept 8 clean sheets, and played a total of 3,234 minutes.
Chelsea also made another signing in this department in the summer, acquiring Filip Jorgensen from Villarreal The cost is approximately £20.7 million. The 22-year-old has Ten appearances for the Blues so farPlayed a total of 900 minutes, conceded only 9 goals and kept 4 clean sheets.
Sanchez vs Kepa vs Jorgensen comparison | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Statistics (per 90 minutes) | Sanchez | Kepa | Jorgensen |
Number of goals scored | 1.29 | 1.45 | 0.88 |
Shot on target | 4.52 | 4.64 | 4.38 |
save | 3.23 | 3.18 | 3.50 |
save% | 77.1% | 70.6% | 80.0% |
clean sheet | 0.19 | 0.18 | 0.38 |
clean sheet rate | 20.0% | 18.2% | 37.5% |
try pass | 38.0 | 25.0 | 37.2 |
cross stop | 1.33 | 0.73 | 0.83 |
Statistics taken from FB reference | |||
When comparing the performance of the three goalkeepers this season, Kepa has the worst save percentage, concedes the most goals per 90 minutes and has the fewest passes despite conceding the most shots against him (mainly due to Bournemouth direct play).
Chelsea’s current two options are performing better, making more saves despite taking fewer shots, conceding fewer goals per 90, passing more passes per 90, stopping more crosses/controlling their own goals better area.
Considering both Sanchez and Jorgensen are performing better and earning lower wages – £60,000 and £50,000 a week respectively – Chelsea should certainly consider signing Granovskaia at the end of the season, either way. That would be a permanent deal to Bournemouth or elsewhere.
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