Chelsea need to chase Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana

Kepa Arrizabalaga has had a poor Chelsea career, and with Andre Onana seemingly available for transfer, the Blues should jump on the chance to upgrade.

The fact that Chelsea’s Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is the most expensive goalkeeper in the history of football is something that could make you want to rip every single strand of hair off of your head in one single pull. The £72 million spent on the former Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper could have bought Alisson instead, or more than 3 Bernd Lenos in the same summer window.

In short, it was a really poor transfer that was, according to transfermarkt, worth about £54 million more than what his market value was at the time. Chelsea overpaid, and by a lot.

Now, they are suffering through the consequences of that deal, as Kepa Arrizabalaga has spent the 2019-20 season becoming the worst goalkeeper in the Premier League statistically, and losing his starting place to none other than 38-year-old Willy Caballero prior to the football postponement last month.

This week, Andre Onana has made it quite clear that his career as Ajax goalkeeper is over, following the cancelation of the Eredivisie season.

"“Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy with Ajax and I am very grateful to the club…It was five great years here, but now my time has come to take a step…I don’t yet know what will happen, but my ambitions and agreements are clear.” – Andre Onana to Algemeen Dagblad"

These quotes make it quite clear that he will ask Ajax to let him move clubs this summer, and with the Dutch giants normally being a selling club, this likely won’t cause many issues either.

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Now, we assess where he could end up. Realistically, no top club in Europe is in desperate need of a starting goalkeeper apart from Chelsea at the moment. Barcelona have been linked with Onana too, but Ter-Stegen is still the bonafide starter at the club, and spending so much money on competition doesn’t seem feasible in this market.

This essentially leaves Chelsea with a free run at Onana, and they are being linked the most as well, with Lampard reportedly set to cut his losses with Kepa in favor of Onana.

This is there right move for all parties. Kepa Arrizabalaga is not a good enough goalkeeper for a club of Chelsea’s ambition, and Onana has more potential in general. Kepa’s height (6’1) has also caused some issues in recent times, and the Blues don’t have to worry about that with 6’3 Onana.

At the end of the day, it’s very unlikely that Chelsea will recover most of the money they initially spent on Kepa Arrizabalaga, but he also isn’t bringing value on the pitch, and the Blues will be forced to cut their losses. As long as they make the upgrade and bring in Andre Onana though, all should be forgiven.