Blues manager Frank Lampard has admitted that he is pleased with Kepa Arrizabalaga’s reaction to being dropped, but Chelsea head coach has refused to confirm whether the world’s most expensive goalkeeper will return into the starting eleven Monday’s massive encounter against Manchester United.
Since making his world-record move for a staggering sum of £71.6million to Chelsea from Athletic Bilbao back in 2018, Kepa was surprisingly left out for the trip to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City a fortnight ago, with Argentine veteran Willy Caballero handed a rare Premier League start for that game which ended 2-2 at the full-time whistle.
Kepa has come under some criticism for poor performances between the sticks this season but it is no doubt that the Spanish shot-stopper is still one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League.
Ahead of the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s visit to Stamford Bridge, Lampard was asked whether or not Kepa would return to the starting line up to face the Red Devils, the 41-year-old said that he has already made up his mind but and is happy with the 25-year-old’s response to being dropped against United, “I’ve decided. You’ll find out [on Monday]. The reaction has been good, as I’d expect. [He has been] training hard, head down. I haven’t had lots of conversations with him this week and it’ll be a decision for me to make.”
Lampard was then suggested that maybe Kepa needed a wake-up call but responded to those rumors by explaining, “I wouldn’t say that. I wasn’t looking for that necessarily. I think I spoke around the Leicester game and said that I have to pick the team as I see it on form in every position, so it was just a selection on that day.”
