Kepa Arrizabalaga became the world’s most expensive goalkeeper on Wednesday after completing a £71.6m move from Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea, with the young Spain international signing a seven-year contract to replace Thibaut Courtois at Stamford Bridge. Kepa will be joined by the Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic after he was secured on loan from Real Madrid. The fee for Kepa eclipses the previous record for a goalkeeper of £66.9m, paid by Liverpool to Roma for Brazil’s No 1, Alisson, last month and the Spaniard could make his debut in Saturday’s opening Premier League fixture at Huddersfield. Real, who will unveil Courtois on Thursday afternoon, had been close to securing the one-time Spain international for £17.9m seven months ago. “It’s a very important decision for me, for my career, and also for my personal life,” Kepa said. “So many things attracted me to the club, all the titles the club has won, the other players, the city, the English Premier League. It’s an accumulation of things, and I am very glad Chelsea has decided to trust me and to take me in as well.” Lawyers for Chelsea and Kepa had convened at the offices of La Liga in Madrid on Wednesday morning and deposited the fee to trigger the release clause in the 23-year-old’s contract. The goalkeeper, capped once but a regular in Spain’s junior set-up, subsequently flew to London. “Kepa is a talent we have admired for a long time and we are extremely excited about his arrival,” said the Chelsea director, Marina Granovskaia. “He has already demonstrated fantastic quality and consistency and will be a big part of any success Chelsea have in the coming years. His long-term contract reflects the belief we have in him and we look ahead to the coming seasons with an enormous sense of optimism.” 01:29 Transfer window: the most expensive signings so far this summer – video Kovacic, who made 10 starts in La Liga last term, has joined for the season much to the dismay of the new Real head coach, Julen Lopetegui, as part of the deal that took Courtois to the Bernabéu. The Belgian goalkeeper, absent without leave all week, will be presented as a Madrid player, costing £35m, on Thursday after a medical. Courtois, 26, who had entered the final 12 months of his contract having indicated since January he would be unlikely to agree new terms, has long desired to return to the Spanish capital where he spent three years on loan at Atlético. He will sign a six-year contract and posted a lengthy message to Chelsea’s support on his Facebook page, stressing: “I hope you understand that being closer to my kids was considerable in my decision [to leave].” His children live with his former partner. He could be one of numerous departures, with Tiemoué Bakayoko’s brother and agent having spent Wednesday in Italy speaking with the Milan directors Leonardo and Paolo Maldini. Bakayoko, a £40m signing from Monaco, is likely to leave on a 12-month loan that could include an option to buy. Premier League clubs had been quoted £15m to sign the France international for the season. The Fiver: sign up for our free football email. That deal, together with Valencia’s offer to take Michy Batshuayi on loan, can be completed before the end of the month. More pressing are the futures of Danny Drinkwater and Kurt Zouma, who have attracted interest from Premier League sides. Everton have enquired about taking Zouma on loan for the season while Drinkwater is available for around £37m, but prospective suitors have been quoted a £10m loan fee, plus his wages. Tomas Kalas is expected to move to Middlesbrough.<doc-sep>Chelsea smashed the world record fee for a goalkeeper by signing Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao for £71m - and an in-depth study suggests the youngster is an ideal replacement for the outgoing Thibaut Courtois. The Blues swooped for the 23-year-old as Courtois swapped Stamford Bridge for the Bernabeu in a £35m deal - but is the Spain prospect capable of filling the Belgian's boots in west London? Sky Sports caught up with Sam Jackson, who heads the analytics consultancy arm of football agency World in Motion/ GK1, to find out... Image: The stats suggest Kepa is on par with reported alternative target Jack Butland - but the Spaniard is superior at distribution Jackson's data suggests Kepa is statistically almost identical to Courtois in ability and style - narrowly edging his predecessor in both shot-stopping and distribution. Kepa now ranks as the Premier League's second-best stopper for distribution - behind only Ederson at Manchester City. Image: Courtois poses during his presentation at the Santiago Bernabeu In terms of shot-stopping, the Spaniard ranks 10th out of 26 - with Manchester United 'keeper David de Gea leading the pack by some distance. Athletic finished 16th in La Liga last term with Kepa between the sticks, whereas Chelsea ended the season fifth in the Premier League - so the former understandably conceded more goals, kept fewer clean sheets and made more saves. However, the two goalkeepers' stats for accurate passes, keeper sweepings and clearances are strikingly similar - although Chelsea's record signing will want to reduce his tally of two errors leading to goals last season. Kepa & Courtois compared, league 2017/18 Stat Kepa Courtois Minutes played 2,700 3,150 Clean sheets 7 15 Goals conceded 43 34 Saves 99 76 Errors leading to goals 2 0 Accurate passes 589 692 Accurate keeper sweepings 11 12 Clearances 21 17 De Gea required time to settle in at Manchester United when he moved to England as a 20-year-old in 2011, and time will tell whether Kepa requires similar patience and if Maurizio Sarri's £71m gamble will pay off. But the stats show why Chelsea were so keen to bring him in to replace Courtois. Comment below to get involved in the debate, but please adhere to our House Rules. If you wish to report any comment, simply click on the down arrow next to the offending comment and click 'Report'.<doc-sep>The goalkeeper had been unsettled at Stamford Bridge and will now return to the Spanish capital, with a World Cup finalist moving the other way Chelsea have confirmed the sale of Thibaut Courtois to Real Madrid, with Mateo Kovacic coming to Stamford Bridge as part of the deal. Courtois has been at the west London club since 2011, and wrested the No. 1 jersey from club favourite Petr Cech after shining during a loan spell with Atletico Madrid as a youngster. In recent months, however, the Belgian has become increasingly unsettled, going so far as to skip training, while he has long been linked with a return to the Spanish capital where he spent three sparkling seasons. And he will now line up at the Champions League holders after Madrid agreed a reported €35m (£31m/$40m) fee that will also see Kovacic spend a year on loan in London. "Chelsea and Real Madrid have tonight agreed terms for the permanent transfer of Thibaut Courtois subject to the agreement of personal terms and passing a medical," Chelsea signalled in a statement published on the club's official website. "Subject to the completion of the deal Mateo Kovacic will join the Blues on a season-long loan." We have tonight agreed terms with Real Madrid for the transfer of Thibaut Courtois, subject to the agreement of personal terms and a medical. As part of the deal, Mateo Kovacic will join Chelsea on a season-long loan.https://t.co/WXhHzEdf6D — Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) 8 de agosto de 2018 Real Madrid also confirmed the deal, revealing that the Belgium goalkeeper will put pen to paper on a contract that takes him up to the end of the 2023-24 season. "Real Madrid and Chelsea have agreed the transfer of Thibaut Courtois, who will be linked to the club for the next six seasons," Madrid stated on their official website. "After the medical that will be carried out on August 9, the player will be presented at 1pm (12pm BST, 7am ET) in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. "Later Courtois will step out for the first time on the Santiago Bernabeu turf with the Real Madrid shirt and speak to reporters in the press room." Article continues below Courtois played a total of 154 appearances for Chelsea, winning the Premier League on two occasions. He also boasts ample experience in Spain, having made an identical number of appearances for Atletico which included a starring role in the Colchoneros' 2013-14 Liga triumph. Courtois may not have to wait long to face his old club, with Real Madrid set to face Atletico in the UEFA Super Cup on August 15.<doc-sep>Chelsea completed the club-record signing of Kepa Arrizabalaga on Wednesday, hours after Athletic Bilbao confirmed the trigger of his €80 million (£71.5m) release clause, making him the world's most expensive goalkeeper. The 23-year-old signed a seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge, shortly after Chelsea confirmed a deal had been reached to grant Thibaut Courtois his desired move to Real Madrid. Chelsea were forced to scramble to find a new first-choice goalkeeper in the final days of the Premier League transfer window after Courtois declined to report at Cobham for training on Monday, instead choosing to remain in Belgium and exert pressure on the Blues to sell him to Madrid. "It's a very important decision for me, for my career, and also for my personal life," Kepa told Chelsea's website. "So many things attracted me to the club, all the titles the club has won, the other players, the city, the English Premier League. It's an accumulation of things, and I am very glad Chelsea has decided to trust me and to take me in as well." The buyout clause eclipses Chelsea's previous record transfer fee, the €65.5m (£58m) they paid Real for Spanish striker Alvaro Morata last summer. Breaking the bank for Kepa is a drastic change of direction for Chelsea, having lost out to Liverpool in the race for Brazil No. 1 Alisson earlier this summer because of their reluctance to meet Roma's valuation of the player, who ultimately moved to Anfield for £56m. Kepa was close to joining Real Madrid for as little as €20m in January, but the deal was blocked by then-coach Zinedine Zidane, and Athletic responded by committing their prized asset to a new long-term contract, which increased his buyout figure to €80m. Athletic do not negotiate when it comes to selling their top stars because they limit themselves to only signing Basque players, meaning the only way Chelsea could bring Kepa to Stamford Bridge was by activating his buyout clause. Kepa made his international debut for Spain in November, keeping a clean sheet in a friendly win over Costa Rica, and was named to the Spain squad for the World Cup in Russia this summer, though he didn't play. He will train with his new Chelsea teammates for the first time on Thursday and could even make his debut in the club's opening Premier League fixture against Huddersfield Town on Saturday. He becomes the third acquisition of a chaotic summer transfer window for Chelsea, following the £50m capture of Jorginho from Napoli and the signing of third-choice goalkeeper Robert Green on a free transfer.<doc-sep>
The club have found their replacement for Thibaut Courtois, who was sold to Real Madrid earlier in the day Chelsea have paid a reported world-record £72 million (€80m/$92m) to sign Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Club as a successor to Real Madrid-bound Thibaut Courtois. The new fee smashes the previous goalkeeper transfer record, set when Liverpool purchased Alisson Becker from Roma for £65m in July. Kepa has signed a seven-year contract with the Blues as they finish the transfer window with a flourish. "It’s a very important decision for me, for my career, and also for my personal life," the goalkeeper told the club's official website. "So many things attracted me to the club, all the titles the club has won, the other players, the city, the English Premier League. It’s an accumulation of things, and I am very glad Chelsea has decided to trust me and to take me in as well." Earlier in the day, Chelsea announced Courtois was departing the club in a deal for a reported £31m deal that also includes Mateo Kovacic heading the Stamford Bridge on a year-long loan. The Blues had paid Kepa's release clause, with the player's representatives and lawyers traveling to La Liga's headquarters in Valencia to pay the fee, before traveling to London undergo a medical and finalise personal terms. Athletic confirmed the release clause had been paid before thanking Kepa and wishing him well in the future. Article continues below The 23-year-old Kepa has been Athletic's goalkeeper the past two seasons, playing in over 50 La Liga games and earning himself a place on Spain's World Cup roster for the 2018 tournament in Russia. Prior to that, Kepa, who came up through the club's youth system, had featured for Ponferradina and Real Valladolid in Spain's second division while on loan from Athletic Club. Chelsea open up their Premier League campaign with a visit to Huddersfield Town on Saturday.