Chelsea News: As a new board comes in every previous move will be under evaluation for Chelsea. Thomas Tuchel will have to make a lot of decisions and one of those will be on Kepa Arrizabalaga’s future.
Kepa has played second fiddle for almost the entirety of the season. Mendy has been the go-to choice for Thomas Tuchel. Kepa maintained his reputation as a penalty specialist and was called upon numerous times in shootouts.
Although, after his crucial miss against Liverpool, things kind of went south for the Spaniard. As a result in the latter stage of the season, he had very few appearances for Chelsea.
The situation is complex for Chelsea as Kepa will surely want more game time. He has a contract with the club till 2025, but if things do not change he may want to depart early. In that case, Chelsea will have to look for someone else and there is one from their own Youth system who could fill that role.
Chelse News: Nathan Baxter could emerge as an alternative for Chelsea
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Chelsea is in the market for a new goalkeeper, which is no surprise. Gabriel Slonina, a midfielder for the Chicago Fire, has been a target for the club. There have been suggestions for the club to look at someone from their young ranks, despite the fact that it would not be an expensive signing.
Nathan Baxter is one of the club’s possible candidates. Baxter, who is 23 years old, has been on loan for a long period. Since 2016, he’s had seven different spells.
His latest season was with Hull city in the Championship where he displayed real potential. As per reports from Football London, he was part of a crucial run of clean sheets which lead Hull away from relegation.
Baxter has a total of 16 appearances for Hull City. He has 7 clean sheets in them and has 82% saves in the season. His run of form was disturbed by an injury in January which then took him out of the team.
Slonina or Baxter? A decision to make for Thomas Tuchel
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Many sources have reported that Chelsea has the edge in Slonina’s pursuit. He is someone who has played an entire season for Chicago Fire and has solidified his place on the team.
Although, Real Madrid still might be there in the picture. On the other hand, Bruce Baxter would be waiting for a first-team opportunity with the Blues. If not he will look for another loan spell for his development.
Baxter on instances looks uncomfortable with the ball but Mendy was the same in his first season with the Blues. Chelsea could gamble on giving him a chance if Slonina’s pursuit fails.
But should an injury happen to Mendy then the Blues would have to depend on Baxter and that is the risk that Thomas Tuchel would have to take. It would be interesting to see who unfolds as Chelsea’s second-choice keeper, you never know, maybe Kepa would end up staying!
