GOALKEEPERS UNION
The strife of Ryan Kepa: De Gea’s helped me settle in England
MARK HUGHES is refusing to accept England boss Gareth Southgate has dumped Ryan Bertrand for good.
Saints left-back Bertrand, 29, was the shock omission from the Three Lions’ World Cup squad last summer – and so far this season has been unable to force his way back into the set-up.
Yet Southampton supremo Hughes is convinced Bertrand has not been axed on a permanent basis.
And he is equally adamant the Saints ace is hell-bent on winning a recall by producing consistent displays on the South Coast – starting today at St Mary’s against unbeaten Chelsea, a former club of both Bertrand and Hughes.
Hughes said: “Ryan won the Champions League with them – so he will want to prove to people that he is still around and still available for England.
“You would hope his performances do the talking for him.” KEPA ARRIZABALAGA admits that David de Gea is partly to thank for his impressive start to life at Chelsea.
Keeper Kepa knows the Manchester United No.1 well from their time together on international duty with Spain.
And he has firmly acknowledged the role that De Gea has played in helping him settle into footballing life in England.
De Gea, 27, struggled with the physicality of the Premier League when he first arrived from Atletico Madrid seven years ago.
But he has gone on to become arguably the best keeper in the top-flight since then with United – and Arrizabalaga says he did not hesitate to tap into that experience.
The 24-yearold, who cost £72million when he switched from Athletic Bilbao in the summer, said: “Every player settles into a new league in different ways.
“David is a team-mate with the national team and we get on really well.
“When I signed for Chelsea, he gave me some advice, telling me a bit about how it was for him when he came here.
“Of course, he has been here for years now and is playing at a fantastic level.
“We were at the World Cup together and had a good chat about the differences between Spanish and English football.
“It’s a good thing to interact with a top goalkeeper who has so much experience in the Premier League. You need a little time, the usual sort of time that it takes to get to know your team-mates and the league itself, but it’s all good generally, I’m very happy.”
Arrizabalaga, who was impressive again against Hungarian side Mol Vidi in Chelsea’s 1-0 Europa League victory on Thursday, insists he does not think about his price tag.
Instead he is focused on making sure that his new club are fighting on as many fronts as possible come the business end of the season.
He added: “We’re working to still be in the mix when there are five or eight league games left, and involved in every competition possible by the time we get to March and April.
“The idea is to win trophies and we want to build a team that can win things, build a team that can be fighting on all fronts.
“We are on the right track.”
Much credit must go to new Blues manager Maurizio Sarri and, of course, to 27-year-old hot-shot Eden Hazard, who is back to his devastating best this season.
Debate
Arrizabalaga, who has played against superstars Cristiano Ronaldo (above) and Lionel Messi in La Liga, said: “Eden is a hugely important player for us.
“I don’t know where he is in that whole Messironaldo debate – but he’s pretty close to both them.
“He is also younger than them and he has plenty of years ahead of him where he will be in contention for the trophies for best player in the world.”