Lampard happy to reward Kepa for ‘spot on’ attitude to losing his Chelsea place
FRANK Lampard insists he is under no pressure to sell out-offavour Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Lampard revealed the Spain international will start tonight’s dead-rubber Champions League clash with Krasnodar at Stamford Bridge.
The 26-year-old will make his first appearance since October, having slipped out of the team fol l owing Edouard Mendy’s £20million arrival from Rennes.
Kepa became a £71million world-record signing for a goalkeeper when joining Chelsea from Athletic Bilbao in 2018, but has failed to convince at Stamford Bridge and especially under Lampard.
Lampard has previously admitted Kepa was struggling with his confidence and form, but Chelsea have already won Group E, leaving tonight’s clash the ideal opportunity to rotate resources.
Chelsea could reasonably seek to cut any losses on Kepa, but Lampard insisted the club’s board have made no such moves.
Asked if he is under any pressure to move Kepa on, Lampard said: “No, there’s no pressure. The pressure, and I’m not saying this has been spoken about, is to win games.
“I have to do the right thing game by game, of course, and Mendy has made himself a permanent fixture at this point.
“Because the pressure to win games means I pick people in form, goalkeeper, striker, winger, whoever.
“But, at the same time, it’s obviously an opportunity to give Edou a rest and Kepa a game; he’s been training well and he deserves it. Kepa will start against Krasnodar.
“Like I said about the group as a whole, it’s about attitude and how we approach the game.
“Of course, Kepa’s situation is slightly different because the goalkeepers have to be patient when they’re not starting games.
“And generally, obviously with Edou’s form, he’s been a very regular pick for me. But of course for this game it’s a game for Kepa, who’s training brilliantly well, acting brilliantly well.
“These periods will happen in players’ careers, and sometimes they will make you stronger and better at the other end. So I’ve got no qualms about putting him back in.”
Mendy has already kept nine clean sheets with Chelsea, having only made the switch from Rennes at the end of September.
While Kepa will doubtless have been frustrated by losing his number-one status with the Blues, Lampard praised the Spaniard’s response, especially in training.
“Kepa’s been very supportive with Edou, and I see that, I see it from afar sometimes, the goalkeepers, they work together with Hilario a lot,” said Lampard.
“But what I do see, watching from afar, is someone that’s supporting him, quietly, as is his right, and someone who’s training really well.
“And that’s the main thing I look at, because the training, particularly the goalkeepers, it can’t only be one goalkeeper who trains at a level — they have to push each other, and I see that within the group. And I’m very pleased with Kepa. His reaction has been spot-on.”