Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is now making Mauricio Pochettino happy, the Chelsea manager has revealed.
Pochettino, who has been the Blues’ head coach for about a month, is now beginning to familiarise himself with the players on his team.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Chelsea’s senior custodian and the overwhelming favorite to start the season in goal, is the situation right now.
The 28-year-old has undoubtedly faced a great deal of criticism in the past during his time at Stamford Bridge, but he keeps outlasting others around him to stay in the game.
Thursday’s preseason match between Chelsea and Newcastle United ended in a 1-1 tie, and Pochettino had nothing but praise for the Blues’ star custodian Kepa.
He has said that his crew has enjoyed dealing with someone who picks up on new concepts rapidly.
“We are ecstatic about him. He is demonstrating outstanding dedication and adjusting to Tony’s and the coaching staff’s new expectations. He is a great goalie,” Pochettino added, according to a tweet from writer Ben Jacobs.
Last month, Sky Sports reported that Pochettino chose to maintain Kepa as Chelsea’s starting custodian for the forthcoming campaign. I hope that doesn’t come back to bite him!
While several around him suffered, the Spanish shot-stopper enjoyed a respectable season last year, but few would place him among the top glovemen in the world.
Can Kepa take over as the regular starting custodian for Chelsea if they want to resume winning championships and compete with the best?
Kepa has donned the armband a few times, and it appears that he will be one of the few players who is guaranteed to start every game. But even so, we wouldn’t choose him as the new permanent captain.