No De Gea: Real Madrid secure Courtois' replacement on loan

Real Madrid have been looking for a replacement goalkeeper after Thibaut Courtois suffered a season-ending knee injury last week.

Kepa Arrizabalaga, a goalkeeper for Chelsea and the Spanish national team, was ultimately chosen as the replacement for the Belgian.

The 28-year-old forward has agreed to move to Real Madrid for the season on loan. However, the deal has no buyout clause, Fabrizio Romano claims.

Due to Chelsea’s impending acquisition of fellow Spaniard Robert Sanchez, Kepa had been expected to depart the Premier League club. He was on the verge of signing with Bayern Munich but will be moving to the Spanish capital instead.

Kepa snubbed Bayern for Bernabeu move

Due to the continued recovery of Manuel Neuer from a skiing accident he sustained last season, the Bundesliga giants offered Kepa a one-year loan with an option to purchase.

Kepa, however, had already made up his mind to join Real Madrid, so he broke the news to the German powerhouses this week, journalist Florian Plettenberg claimed.

Now, the new CEO of the Bavarians, Jan-Christian Dreesen, has all but finalized the goalkeeper’s transfer to the Whites. The German champions had previously pursued the 28-year-old, and he explained the situation.

“We were close to this deal and we actually wanted to present Kepa today. But he chose to join Real Madrid. He’s Spanish and so Kepa wanted to accept Real proposal,” Dreesen revealed.

Zidane vetoed player’s arrival in 2018

Real Madrid will likely turn to Kepa, who is joining on loan for the season despite Andriy Lunin’s strong performance against Athletic Club on Saturday night, as their starting goalkeeper.

Unfortunately for the Ukrainian international, Carlo Ancelotti does not see him as more than a backup.

Kepa is admired by those in charge at Real Madrid, who tried to sign him in January 2018 until Zinedine Zidane scuttled the deal.

Later that summer, he moved to the Stamford Bridge, where he set a record transfer fee for a goalkeeper. The transfer benefits the Spanish capital club both financially and tactically.

Photo credit: IMAGO / Crystal Pix