Frank Lampard prioritising Nick Pope transfer for summer with Kepa facing Chelsea axe
Posted Tuesday, February 04, 2020 by Dailystar.co.uk
Frank Lampard wants to replace Kepa Arrizabalaga with Nick Pope at Chelsea
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard is ready to axe Kepa Arrizabalaga in the summer transfer window - and replace him with Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope.
Arrizabalaga has seen his form deteriorate at Stamford Bridge in recent weeks, making a series of costly errors in between the sticks for the Blues.
Lampard looks to have grown frustrated with the Spaniard, demoting him to the bench in Saturday's 2-2 draw away at Leicester and starting backup shot-stopper Willy Caballero in his place.
According to the Daily Express, the Chelsea head coach is now willing to offload Arrizabalaga when the transfer window reopens this summer.
It is believed Lampard is keen to replace him with an English goalkeeper and has therefore identified Pope as his No.1 target.
The Clarets ace, 27, is one of the best goalkeepers in the country right now, recently picking up clean sheets against Manchester United and Arsenal.
Nevertheless, the Chelsea board are not keen on the idea of taking a huge financial hit on Arrizabalaga just 18 months after paying a club-record £72m to bring him to England.
Blues chief Marina Granovskaia personally negotiated a deal for the player, handing him a seven-year contract worth £70m, although Atletico Madrid's Jan Oblak is said to have been her first choice.
And he wants Burnley shot-stopper Nick Pope to replace him (Image: GETTY)
Oblak reportedly turned down a move to the Bridge after an £89m agreement was reached between Chelsea and Atletico.
Roma then rejected their advances for Alisson, who would later seal a £68m move to Premier League rivals Liverpool.
And that left the Blues with no choice but to make a beeline for Arrizabalaga after allowing Thibaut Courtois join Real Madrid in 2018.
The 25-year-old has since racked up 85 appearances for Chelsea, winning the Europa League and reaching the Carabao Cup final in his debut season.
Yet he has seemingly failed to impress new boss Lampard this season and now looks unlikely to remain in west London beyond the end of the season.
When asked if Caballero will remain in goal after Saturday's draw at Leicester, Lampard said: "I'm not going to talk about that now.
"But I thought his overall performance was pretty good. He made some good saves, was comfortable with his feet."
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