Kepa Arrizabalaga has been handed a golden opportunity to show new Chelsea boss Graham Potter that he should be his number one goalkeeper this season.
Edouard Mendy has been ruled out after sustaining a knee injury against West Ham United, which has seen Kepa feature in both of the last two matches for Chelsea.
One was a 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb under Thomas Tuchel before being named in Potter’s first starting XI against FC Salzburg.
Advert
Despite conceding, Kepa looked confident on the ball and his distribution was a highlight from the match but the Blues failed to keep a clean sheet.
With Mendy expected to be back for Chelsea after the international break, Potter would have had to have a decision to make.
However, he has now confirmed that the match against Crystal Palace on Saturday will come too soon for the Senegal international.
Advert
"Edou is a bit further on, but hasn’t had enough to be involved at the weekend," he said.
"Maybe next week for him."
Therefore, Kepa has been handed what could perhaps be a final chance to impress the new head coach and stake a real claim to be Chelsea’s number one under Potter.
The shot-stopper will have to prove that he can be relied upon and utilised as Potter did Robert Sanchez at Brighton.
Advert
To Kepa’s advantage, he was not called up to the Spain squad ahead of the World Cup, so has been working at Cobham and with Potter longer than Mendy, who went with Senegal before returning to London.
Potter clearly likes to have a goalkeeper with strong distribution, allowing his number one to be the start of his side’s attacks.
Kepa arguably has better distribution than Mendy, and with another audition against Crystal Palace, it is his time to show this.
As well as proving to Potter that he is excellent on the ball, Kepa must show that he can be trusted to stop Crystal Palace from scoring.
Advert
A clean sheet against Patrick Vieira’s side at Selhurts Park would go some way to proving that he is more than capable of keeping Mendy out of the team this season.
It remains to be seen as to who will be Potter’s first choice going forward, but Kepa has the skillset to earn his way into the 47-year-old’s plans this season, and his chance against Crystal Palace should be a welcome opportunity for the Spaniard.
With a must-win match against AC Milan coming up next week and Mendy set to return for the Champions League clash, Kepa has to do his best to keep his place going forward.
Advert
Topics: Chelsea, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Edouard Mendy, Football, Premier League, Graham Potter
Nick Emms