Footie Central | Football Blog Blogging the football world
Chelsea are looking at Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope as they begin to consider alternatives to Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The 25 year old was signed from Athletic Bilbao for £72 million 18 months ago, a fee that made him not only Chelsea’s record signing, but also represented a world record sum paid for a goalkeeper.
However, he has failed to live up to the billing, and has been accused of lacking authority and presence. No goalkeeper this season, who has played 1,000 minutes or more, has let in a higher percentage of shots than Kepa. He let in two goals against Arsenal on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge from the only shots that the Gunners had all game.
Pope meanwhile, after a long injury lay-off, has re-established himself as Burnley’s number one, and he is also part of Gareth Southgate’s England squad. He is under contract at Burnley until 2023, and the Lancashire club have the option to extend that by a further year.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.