The Chelsea board don't get too much wrong. But the deal which took Kepa Arrizabalga to Stamford Bridge remains something of a black mark on the club's record in the transfer market and was chief among the deals in recent years that prompted questions which hadn't been asked before.
Flopped transfer deals, protracted negotiations for players and a series of fallouts with different managers pockmarked the transfer windows that started during Antonio Conte's time at the club and continued until the summer that saw the likes of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz arrive under Frank Lampard. It has taken so long for the board to offload some of the deadwood that they had purchased. Some fringe players still remain on Chelsea’s wage books, blocking the potential for more necessary transfers.
But, finally, there looks to be some light emerging at the end of the tunnel with the Premier League’s second-highest-paid goalkeeper potentially leaving this summer amid reports of Chelsea expecting interest.
That’s right, Kepa Arrizabalaga could be allowed to leave Stamford Bridge as Chelsea begin to sort out some of the problems that have prevented them from continuing to move forward with their squad build.
Kepa Arrizabalaga reportedly earns £155,000 per week courtesy at Chelsea. Only Ben Chilwell, Timo Werner, N’Golo Kante, and Romelu Lukaku are said to earn more than him. Edouard Mendy earns significantly less despite clearly establishing himself as the undisputed No.1 at Stamford Bridge.
Fans have witnessed the Blues miss out on a number of key players in the past such as Jan Oblak and Virgil van Dijk because of the club's apparent failure to negotiate the right wages and price as part of a deal. Instead, options such as Tiemoue Bakayoko, Danny Drinkwater, Baba Rahman, Michy Batshuayi and more were considered to fit the wage bill. These players still remain on Chelsea's books despite all being on the periphery of first-team matters for almost the entirety of their respective spells at the club.
Drinkwater is out of sight and in some respects out of mind given he is on loan at Reading and is therefore less of a problem than someone like Kepa who was brought in at great expense and who now cannot command the first-team berth he would have envisaged nailing down when arriving. Bakayoko and Rahman fit in the same bracket as players who Chelsea will regret purchasing and will encourage to leave to trim the wage bill.
There’s no shame in backing any manager's selections in the transfer market only to receive nothing tangible from it. Failing to make use of players who continue to take a wage home each week causes more angst among supporters than the initial decision to recruit.
Amid Antonio Rudiger's protracted contract negotiations, it's worth considering how the wages that continue to be spent on a number of players that were deemed surplus to requirements a long time ago could be put to good use of renewing the German's deal.
The change in transfer policy starts with Kepa Arrizabalaga. As much as I wanted the Spaniard to succeed at Chelsea, his wages are far too high for a backup goalkeeper. It also raises questions over Mendy's standing if his deputy remains on a better contract.
I have no doubt in my mind that Kepa is first-choice material for another club. He has proven it with the chances he has taken when Mendy has not been available but is clearly a level below the Senegalese. He deserves praise for how he has fared in Mendy’s absence due to his successful African Cup of Nations journey.
Kepa will be the first name on the list of many players that Chelsea will need to sell to fund an influx of new talent this summer. Overseeing those departures will make for a more streamlined squad, correct previous errors and lay the foundations for an important summer of transfer activity at the club.
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