Al-Ittihad have made a ‘significant offer’ for Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga

Kepa Arrizabalaga spent last season on loan at Real Madrid, replacing the injured Thibaut Courtois, first as a starter and then as a substitute for Andriy Lunin, finishing the season as Spanish champion as well as European champion.

But despite the good news, Real have not shown much interest in keeping Kepa, especially after he lost his place to Lunin. With one year left on his contract, the world’s most expensive goalkeeper (still) is expected to report to Cobham for the start of our pre-season preparations this week.

Whether that will actually happen remains to be seen, especially if the rumours that he has received an offer from Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad are true. According to Marca, it is a “significant offer” that Kepa would find hard to reject, although the 29-year-old has asked for more time to make up his mind in case Real Madrid change their minds. The club have yet to sort out the situation with Lunin (he is in the final year of his contract), and it seems that Kepa would prefer to stay (unsurprisingly).

The report doesn’t give a timeline or date for when this will all be resolved (or a potential transfer fee), but Al-Ittihad are also starting their pre-season activities, so it’s likely they won’t want to wait too long (they need to replace last year’s regular in goal, veteran Marcelo Grohe, who left the club).