Real Madrid Swiftly Secure Kepa Arrizabalaga as Thibaut Courtois’ Stand-in

In a recent setback, Real Madrid faced a significant blow as their star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury during training. Nevertheless, the club wasted no time in addressing the situation by making a swift replacement.

Kepa Arrizabalaga, the goalkeeper from Chelsea, has joined Real Madrid on a loan basis for the season, with no future option to purchase, to take over the mantle from Courtois. Real Madrid officially announced this deal on Monday morning. Kepa is scheduled to engage with the media after his formal introduction on Tuesday, which is set to take place at 13:30 CEST.

For Kepa, this marks his return to La Liga after his move to Chelsea for a record-breaking fee of €80 million, establishing the world record for goalkeeper transfers.

While Kepa experienced a mix of roles in the Chelsea lineup, ultimately yielding his number one position to Edouard Mendy in 2021, he managed to regain his starting spot in the preceding season. His initial prospects under Mauricio Pochettino positioned him as the lead choice for the upcoming season.

Although Bayern Munich and Real Madrid expressed interest, Kepa’s preference leaned towards Madrid over Munich, prompting his decision to join the Spanish club.

Carlo Ancelotti previously expressed confidence in Andriy Lunin, asserting that any additional goalkeeping recruitment would be due to Lunin’s role as the only senior alternative. However, ongoing speculations have hinted at Ancelotti’s reservations about Lunin’s reliability, which might explain Kepa’s anticipated prompt promotion to the number one spot.