Pochettino forced into late Chelsea change as Liverpool plans thrown into chaos

13 August 2023 , 07:54

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Pochettino forced into late Chelsea change as Liverpool plans thrown into chaos

Mauricio Pochettino is expected to remove Kepa Arrizabalaga from his squad to face Liverpool on Sunday amid interest from Real Madrid.

Kepa, who has had ups and downs since joining from Athletic Club in 2018, appeared to have won the race to start the season as Pochettino's first-choice. He regained his starting spot from Edouard Mendy last term, and the Senegal keeper made a summer switch to Al-Ahli at the start of the summer window.

Robert Sanchez has moved to Stamford Bridge from Brighton, but was still tipped to play second fiddle to his fellow Spain international at the start of the campaign. With Madrid ready to pounce for Kepa, though, the new man could make his debut against Liverpool.

Real Madrid's own situation has changed very quickly. They had planned to begin the campaign with Thibaut Courtois between the sticks, only for the former Chelsea keeper to suffer an ACL injury which will keep him out for several months.

According to The Telegraph, Chelsea's current number one is due to travel to Spain ahead of his move to the Bernabeu. It is expected to be a loan switch with no option to buy, though questions may remain over Kepa's longer-term future were he to leave Stamford Bridge even temporarily.

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If Kepa is unavailable, the Blues could be forced to name Finnish youngster Lucas Bergstrom on the bench. The 20-year-old keeper, who was on loan at Peterborough last term, could be called into action with Marcus Bettinelli out injured and Gaga Slonina loaned out to Eupen during the week.

Should Chelsea fight to keep Kepa? Have your say in the comments section

If Kepa does move on, Chelsea are likely to move for another keeper to provide competition for Sanchez. Former Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel is among the names to have been linked, but The Athletic reports that the veteran is not one of those being considered by Pochettino.

Chelsea have a number of injury worries going into Sunday's league opener. The most pressing is the knee problem suffered by new signing Christopher Nkunku in pre-season, while centre-back Wesley Fofana is also a long-term absentee, but former Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling should be available to face his old club.

"We need to win and we are going to be ready to win against Liverpool," Pochettino said in the lead-up to the game at Stamford Bridge. The mentality is to compete in the best way.”

Tom Victor