Spain international closing in on Premier League club swap | OneFootball

Premier League side Bournemouth want to keep Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga at the club permanently next season.

Kepa returned to Chelsea last summer, following a season long loan at Real Madrid, in the 2023/24 season.

However, he was quickly added to a list of potential departures as new Blues boss Enzo Maresca looked to offload players that did not meet his plans.

Kepa was told he could move on, but the Spanish international opted against a transfer away from Stamford Bridge, with a loan to Bournemouth eventually agreed.

The former Athletic Club stopper has impressed in between the posts for Andoni Iraola’s team as his career looks revived with the Cherries.

Despite his fall from first team prominence at Chelsea, Kepa remains the most expensive goal keeper in history following his €80m move from Bilbao in 2018, and he will be on the move again in 2025.

Bournemouth are pushing hard for a first ever European qualification spot in the season run-in and Iraola wants Kepa to be part of the adventure if they make it there in 2025/26.

Kepa still has a year left on his contract at Chelsea, but reports from the Daily Telegraph indicate a deal could be struck to settle his wages, with Bournemouth paying a portion of that instead of a transfer fee.

His place back at Chelsea is unchanged, despite Maresca’s struggles to gain a solid No.1 with Kepa’s fellow Spaniard Robert Sanchez struggling and Filip Jorgensen not convincing the manager.

A permanent move to Bournemouth could also put Kepa back on Luis de la Fuente’s Spain radar with his last international appearance coming in 2023.

Unai Simon and David Raya are currently battling to be first choice, with the latter in the lead, meaning Kepa would have to settle for a back up spot, if he was reintroduced to the squad.