Why is Chelsea's £71m record signing Kepa showing signs of struggle?

Once hailed as a vital piece of the puzzle under Maurizio Sarri, the Spanish goalkeeper is struggling in recent weeks under Frank Lampard

Kepa Arrizabalaga made his Chelsea debut against Huddersfield Town at the beginning of last season, with the fans in Yorkshire jeering the world's most expensive goalkeeper who had just become his club's £71 million ($91m) record transfer. 

That was just two days after arriving in west London and the boos largely fell on deaf ears. Kepa eased through early scrutiny, despite a price tag that may have seen others panic.

Having come through some stern examinations early on, the fee Chelsea paid for their No.1 has been mostly forgotten but there have recently been a number of concerns over his form which have raised questions over his true value.



Thanks to VAR and an uncharacteristic miss from Sergio Aguero, Kepa got away with two sloppy moments in goal against Manchester City in Chelsea's recent 2-1 Premier League defeat .

The 25-year-old was also arguably at fault in some part for the first three goals at Stamford Bridge as Ajax drew 4-4 with Chelsea in a key Champions League clash.

There are also debates over whether he could have stopped goals against Wolves, Burnley and Norwich this season. Furthermore, Chelsea have the joint-worst top-flight defence away from home.

Kepa's save percentage was the worst of any top-six goalkeeper last season and that has dropped further. He has gone from saving 67.8 per cent of shots faced to only 52.5% in the Premier League.

Since joining Chelsea in 2018, Kepa ranks in 27th place out of 33 goalkeepers with a save percentage of 63.98% in the last two seasons.

Frank Lampard's style of play may have led to the drop as Chelsea's defensive record in general has declined under the new manager. However, while they are conceding more, Kepa is facing fewer shots on target per game than he did under Maurizio Sarri.

The expected goals (xG) against Kepa last season was 37.14 in total and he conceded 39 goals in his 36 games played. That's worse this season as the xG against him is calculated at 11.92 but he has conceded 17 times in the league.

In mitigation, Kepa has lost David Luiz to Arsenal and Antonio Rudiger to injury which has led to a less experienced backline in front of him.

However, the data makes for uncomfortable reading on Kepa, who will need to improve with a seven-year £190,000-a-week deal meaning that Chelsea have little choice but to persist with him for the time being.





GOAL