Real Madrid and Chelsea have reached an agreement for goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga's loan spell to the Spanish club. The 28-year-old Arrizabalaga will arrive as a temporary replacement for Thibaut Courtois, who will be sidelined for several months after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee during a training session last Thursday. Arrizabalaga joined Chelsea from Athletic Bilbao in 2018 for a record 80 million euros fee for a goalkeeper but didn't live up to the expectations. Chelsea signed goalkeeper Robert Sanchez from Brighton & Hove Albion this summer. Bayern Munich targeted him as the German side want to replace their own injured goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer. Real Madrid moved faster to secure the deal of Kepa.
Courtois' injury came as a major blow for Real Madrid as they will have to make things work without the services of one of their key players. Courtois joined Real from Chelsea in 2018 after winning two Premier League titles, FA Cup and the League Cup during his time at Stamford Bridge. He won the Player-of-the-Match award following the 2022 Champions League final after producing one of the greatest goalkeeping performances in a European Cup final.
Real Madrid had only one other goalkeeper in their first-team squad, Ukraine's Andriy Lunin. The 24-year-old Lunin has made only nine Spanish league appearances for the club since signing from Zorya Luhansk in 2018. He spent his first two seasons in Spain on loan spells with Leganes, Valladolid, and Oviedo. It will be very interesting to see what Kepa Arrizabalaga will produce for the 14 times Champions League Champions.