AFC Bournemouth sign Chelsea superstar in insane loan deal

Kepa Arrizabalaga, the custodian for Chelsea, will spend the entire season on loan at AFC Bournemouth, another Premier League team. In order to prevent himself from departing for nothing following his loan stint on the South Coast, the 29-year-old, who became the most expensive stopper in the world in 2018 after joining from Athletic Bilbao worth in excess of £71 million, has also extended his tenure at Stamford Bridge by one year, to 2026.

Kepa has been practicing apart from manager Enzo Maresca's first team group along with over a dozen other top players, including Ben Chilwell and Raheem Sterling, who were judged surplus to needs. The deal puts a stop to Bournemouth's pursuit of England and Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, and it's possible that Mark Travers may depart the team before the transfer market closes on Friday night.

Kepa turned down a July transfer to Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia, but Chelsea has been acquiring goalkeepers ever since. Earlier today, 19-year-old Belgian Mike Penders agreed to a £17 million deal, albeit he will stay at Genk until the summer of 2019. Although it was supposedly completed at the beginning of the month, this €20 million (add-ons included) purchase was just recently made official.

Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga’s career in Spain and England so far

Kepa has played for Chelsea for 109 games and for his country, Spain, for 13. He started out in the youth system of Athletic Bilbao before relocating to Basconia. After that, Kepa transferred to Athletic Bilbao's B team, where he eventually played until 2015 when he was called up to the senior squad.

He remained there until 2018, when he left to sign with Chelsea following loan stints at Real Valladolid and Ponferradina. Last season with Real Madrid, Kepa played 20 games during his loan at Real Madrid, filling in for the ailing Thibaut Courtois and helping the team win both the UEFA Champions League and La Liga.