Abramovich wants Kepa sold after Cup final incident – El Confidencial

As per a report from Spanish outlet El Confidencial, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is intent on parting ways with Kepa Arrizabalaga, following the Blues’ shot-stopper’s widely-scrutinized antics during the closing minutes of last month’s League Cup final.

Kepa Arrizabalaga

Chelsea went head to head with Premier League champions Manchester City in the final of the EFL Cup two weekends ago.

Maurizio Sarri’s men headed into the matchup as major underdogs, having fallen to 3 defeats in their preceding 6 outings across all competitions, one of which came in the form of a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of City.

Maurizio Sarri tried substituing Arrizabalaga for Willy Caballero, but Kepa refused to come off and Sarri got absolutely furious.

😳 - Have you EVER seen anything like it!?

Maurizio Sarri tries to substitute Kepa Arrizabalaga for Willy Caballero, but Kepa refuses to come off and Sarri is absolutely FURIOUS! 😡 pic.twitter.com/Q81v6ry3Kk

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 24, 2019

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Pep Guardiola’s Citizens, on the other hand, had been in characteristically-sumptuous form ahead of the Wembley showdown, on the back of 13 wins from their previous 14 fixtures.

As a result, it came as something of a surprise when Chelsea matched the Premier League champions punch-for-punch, in a largely-even contest in London.

In the end, however, 120 minutes of football saw both sides fail to find an all-important goal, sending the clash to a penalty shootout.

And, after a nail-biting test of nerves, it was holders City who emerged victorious, with Raheem Sterling’s confidently-dispatched final spot-kick having sealed a 4-3 shootout win.

However, the penalties themselves only told half of the story.

The main talking point surrounding the clash as a whole came with minutes remaining in extra-time, when Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga went to ground in discomfort for a second time.

The Spaniard’s problem saw Maurizio Sarri call for Blues’ no.2 Willy Caballero, a spot-kick specialist, to replace Kepa, ahead of the imminent penalty shootout.

Now, as per the aforementioned report from El Confidencial this afternoon, though, Roman Abramovich has not been so forgiving.

Roman Abramovich

In fact, it is claimed that the Chelsea owner has already begun the search for a potential replacement for Kepa.

Abramovich is said to have been left fuming with the Spanish shot-stopper’s behavior versus City, with the Russian billionaire ready to part ways with his side’s no.1.

The one major sticking point highlighted by El Confidencial in Abramovich’s hopes of reaching an agreement with another club over Kepa’s sale, though, is of course the 24-year-old’s price-tag. 

Chelsea splashed out a massive 80 million Euro on Kepa’s signature just last summer, and would no doubt hope to recoup a large percentage of this fee in the case of his sale. As such, for this, and a multitude of other reasons, a transfer actually coming to fruition appears highly unlikely.

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