Chelsea have broken the world record transfer fee for a goalkeeper by signing Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao for £71.6m on a seven-year deal. The 23-year-old arrives on the eve of Thibaut Courtois' departure from Stamford Bridge, with the Belgian set to be unveiled at Real Madrid on Thursday after he undergoes a medical. Having activated Kepa's release clause earlier on Wednesday, Chelsea's £71.6m deal surpasses the £67m Liverpool spent to bring Alisson Becker to Anfield earlier this summer. Kepa will train with his new team-mates for the first time on Thursday, and will be available for their Premier League opener against Huddersfield on Saturday. Image: Kepa Arrizabalaga was named in Spain' World Cup squad "It's a very important decision for me, for my career, and also for my personal life," Kepa told Chelsea's club 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." Kepa featured 30 times for Athletic in La Liga last season, keeping seven clean sheets, with his form earning him a call-up to Spain's World Cup squad after making his national team debut last November. He becomes the sixth Spaniard in Chelsea's squad, joining Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso, Cesc Fabregas, Pedro and Alvaro Morata. Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia added: "Kepa is a talent we have admired for a long time and we are extremely excited about his arrival. Image: Kepa Arrizabalaga featured 30 times for Athletic Bilbao last season, keeping seven clean sheets "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." Get Sky Sports' dedicated football channels for over 500 live matches this season - find out more<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.<doc-sep>Last updated on .From the section Chelsea Kepa has made one appearance for Spain Chelsea have signed Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao for £71m - the highest fee ever paid for a goalkeeper, and a club record transfer. Kepa, 23, arrives at Stamford Bridge after a release clause in his contract was met, with the deal surpassing Alisson's £66.8m move to Liverpool. He has signed a seven-year contract at the club and replaces Thibaut Courtois, who has joined Real Madrid. Kepa is second choice for Spain behind Manchester United's David de Gea. He has spent the past two seasons in Athletic's first team, making 53 La Liga appearances, and has one international cap. The fee Chelsea have paid surpasses the £60m they spent on Spanish striker Alvaro Morata in July 2017. "So many things attracted me to the club - all the titles the club has won, the other players, the city, the English Premier League," Kepa said. "It's an accumulation of things, and I am very glad Chelsea has decided to trust me and to take me in as well." In January, Kepa signed a new long-term contract external-link with Athletic until 2025, amid interest from Real Madrid. He is the second key player to leave the club this year, after Manchester City signed French defender Aymeric Laporte for £57m in January. "Kepa is a very solid goalkeeper, who can become an even better goalkeeper in the years to come," European football writer Andy Brassell told BBC Radio 5 live. "He was deemed good enough by the board and (former manager) Zinedine Zidane to be good enough for Real Madrid, but they wouldn't pay the clause." Kepa made 53 La Liga appearances for Athletic Bilbao 'Calm, with lightning-fast reflexes' - analysis Spanish football writer Andy West It's ironic that Arrizabalaga is heading to Chelsea to replace Real Madrid-bound Courtois, because just a few months ago he nearly simplified the goalkeeper merry-go-round by moving to the Bernabeu himself. In January, Real moved for Kepa by offering to pay his 20m euros buy-out clause with Athletic Bilbao, but he rejected that opportunity by signing a new seven-year contract with the Basque club. As often happens, though, that only succeeded in raising his value rather than securing his long-term future, and Kepa is now the world's most expensive goalkeeper. He joined Athletic at the age of nine. After advancing into the senior squad in 2012 his rise was steady rather than spectacular. Following loan spells with second-tier Ponferradina and Real Valladolid, he finally became a starter for Athletic early in the 2016-17 season, quickly establishing himself by showing impressive poise and maturity. Although Kepa conceded 43 goals in 30 league games last season, that was mainly due to the deficiencies of the weak team in front of him. A more accurate reflection of his talent was his elevation into the Spain squad, although his outing in a 5-0 friendly win over Costa Rica in November 2017 remains his only international appearance to date. His greatest assets are lightning-fast reflexes, allowing him to make stunning close-range stops, and calm composure in even the most frenetic of penalty areas. And although eyebrows have been raised by the huge fee for a player with just two seasons of top-flight experience, the consensus in Spain regards Kepa as the country's best young goalkeeper with a very bright future. A world record - for 20 days Before Alisson moved from Roma to Liverpool in July, Gianluigi Buffon had spent 17 years as the most expensive goalkeeper in world football. The 40-year-old Italian, who this summer left Juventus to join Paris St-Germain, was purchased for 53m euros by Juve from Parma on 3 July 2001. While that record stood for 6,225 days, the fee paid for Alisson was surpassed within 20 days. Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.<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.