“He is showing great commitment and adapting to the new demands” – Mauricio Pochettino backs under-fire Chelsea star
Mauricio Pochettino has backed under-fire Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. The manager said that the Spaniard is doing well in training and is adapting to the demands of the staff.
Chelsea fans have been calling for the club to sign a new goalkeeper due to their lack of confidence in Kepa. However, the new manager has put his weight behind the Spaniard and stated that he is working hard and is a fantastic keeper.
Speaking to the Premier League productions after the 1-1 draw against Newcastle United, Pochettino confirmed that he was happy with Kepa. He said:
"We are so happy with him. He is showing great commitment and adapting to the new demands from Tony and the coaching staff. He is a fantastic keeper."
The Blues were linked with moves for Andre Onana and Mike Maignan but deemed the asking prices to be too high.
Chelsea warned against starting the season with Kepa
Football pundit Stan Collymore is not happy with Chelsea's plans to go into the new season with Kepa Arrizabalaga as their first-choice goalkeeper. He believes that they need to upgrade the 'weak' position and suggested they sign David Raya.
He added that the £40 million asking price set by Brentford could be a bit too much, but believes that the Spaniard is better than Kepa. He wrote on Caught Offside:
"It seems Mauricio Pochettino is happy to go into the new season with Kepa as his number one. But that's going to be a problem in my opinion because the Spaniard is weak - he isn't physically or mentally strong enough to be the Blues' outright number one. I know Daniel Levy is in the process of trying to sign David Raya from Brentford, but while the Bees' £40million asking price remains a sticking point, why on Earth aren't Chèlsea and Manchester United trying their luck? He's a good 'keeper."
He added:
"The problem, especially with Chèlsea, is that there is no spine to their team. They've got a lot of flair players and the majority of their best players play out wide, but the centre of their team, from back to front is really lacking. So, once again, Chèlsea need to make a lot of signings, and in my opinion, when the spine of your team needs rebuilding, it should always start with signing a new goalkeeper."
Chelsea haev sold Edouard Mendy to Al Ahli and are in the market for a backup keeper.