'Medical booked' - Chelsea sanction exit of £73m star labelled 'fantastic' by Graham Potter

Chelsea are set to allow goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to leave the club this summer and complete a loan move to Premier League rivals AFC Bournemouth as Enzo Maresa continues to trim the fat around his huge Blues squad.

The London club has already splashed £20 million on bringing shot-stopper Filip Jorgensen to Stamford Bridge from Villarreal this summer. The 22-year-old has been on the bench for both Premier League outings so far this season with Spaniard Robert Sanchez holding down the number one spot.

Kepa has been nowhere to be seen in the matchday squad and has been deemed surplus to requirements by Maresca. The 29-year-old faced a similar fate under Mauricio Pochettino last term and was shipped out on loan to Real Madrid, where he made just 14 La Liga appearances.

Chelsea paid £73 million to bring Kepa to the club from Athletic Bilbao in 2018, making him the world's most expensive goalkeeper - a record that still stands today. However, Kepa will not be part of Maresca's debut campaign.

Taking to social media platform X on Monday morning, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano provided an update on a loan move to Bournemouth. He wrote: "Understand Bournemouth are closing in on deal to sign Kepa from Chelsea! Still key details to sort but loan deal until June 2025 (extending his contract at #CFC until 2026) now close after late night talks. If all good later today, Kepa will travel for medical tests."

Bournemouth have recorded two 1-1 draws to start the season, against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United, with Neto in between the sticks for Andoni Iraola.

Kepa has fallen out of favour at Chelsea ever since the departure of Graham Potter, who had praised the goalkeeper during his time with the London club. Speaking in 2022, following a 2-0 win over Aston Villa which saw Kepa impress, Potter said: "It was a hard-fought game. Aston Villa made us suffer, certainly in the first half.

“We lost our way a little bit and we needed Kepa to make some fantastic saves. He is contributing to us with clean sheets, how we are trying to play and the environment around the place. Kepa found a fantastic level, he made brilliant saves which kept us in the game."