Image Courtesy: Fanatik
Pepe Reina is the first choice goalkeeper at Lazio but the club are keen to move away from relying on the 38-year old ex-Liverpool keeper who is on loan from AC Milan and whose deal expires at the end of next season.
Kepa lost his place as the first-choice goalkeeper in the first team to Edouard Mendy who was signed last season. Chelsea paid the world-record fee for a goalkeeper when they bought Kepa for €80-million from Athletic Bilbao in 2018. The Spaniard has featured occasionally under Thomas Tuchel and could be offered a way out of Chelsea for more playing time with a loan to Lazio.
Kepa could be set to reunite with former manager Maurizio Sarri who managed him at Chelsea. The pair infamously clashed at the 2019 League Cup final. Kepa refused to be replaced by Willy Caballero after suffering from cramp minutes before his side lost on penalties to Manchester City. The 26-year-old was confronted by Chelsea’s senior players and was fined a week’s wages after the incident.
You can watch the video of the incident here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqVcFxFSMNk
Chelsea is keen to get the Spanish International’s £150,000-a-week wages off the books. Lazio is keen on signing Kepa on a loan deal and is willing to cover 50% of his wages depending on the loan fee that Lazio would have to pay to Chelsea for securing his services. Although Kepa signed a 7-year contract with Chelsea when he made the move to Stamford Bridge in 2018, the English club doesn’t see a future with him as the first-choice goalkeeper.