attended La Liga’s offices in Madrid to deposit the money yesterday morning securing his release.
He then boarded a private jet to London to have his medical, and finalise the move, before being joined in the capital by his family.
Kepa’s arrival has paved the way for Courtois to move to Real Madrid with Chelsea last night agreeing terms with the Spanish giants over a £35m move.
Courtois has been desperate to return to the
Spanish capital, where he previously played with
Atletico Madrid and his two children live.
He is due in Madrid to complete his transfer today and has also agreed terms on a six-year deal.
Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic is heading the other way from Madrid to Chelsea, and was also having a medical yesterday afternoon ahead of his loan switch to Stamford Bridge.
Kepa and Kovacic (right) will join midfielder Jorginho and goalkeeper Rob Green as new faces at Chelsea this summer.
And Chelsea’s focus on deadline day will shift to offloading players.
The arrival of two midfielders has made Tiemoue Bakayoko surplus to requirements and he is set to seal a season-long loan move to AC Milan.
The Italians also want to secure an option to buy the Frenchman for around £30m next summer.
His representatives held talks with Milan directors Leonardo and Paolo Maldini yesterday. Danny Drinkwater (top left) could also be squeezed out and has attracted attention from West Ham and his former club Leicester City.
Centre-back Kurt Zouma (middle left), who spent last season on loan at Stoke, could be heading out temporarily again and is wanted by Everton.
Sevilla have made an approach to take striker Michy Batshuayi (bottom left) on loan.
He impressed during a shortterm stint at Borussia Dortmund last season, scoring seven times in 10 games, before injury brought a premature end to his club campaign.
Either Batshuayi or youngster Tammy Abraham, who spent last season at Swansea, are likely to be loaned out.
KEEP BLUES ON A HIGH Arrizabalaga is ready to make his mark at Stamford Bridge after his big-money deal KASPER SCHMEICHEL is not surprised to see goalkeepers moving for “ridiculously high” fees given the fine line between success and failure.Brazil international Alisson Becker (above) last month became the most expensive keeper ever with a £66million switch from Roma to Liverpool.But Chelsea are poised to sign Athletic Bilbao’s Kepa Arrizabalaga for £71m.Schmeichel, aPremier League champion withLeicester, said: “I think generally transfers are ridiculously h igh at the moment.“It was only a matter of time before goalkeepers got in on the act, because a good goalkeeper can be the difference between winning the league and not winning the league.“That’s the market at the moment. I think the Neymar transfer was pivotal.“Prices became very inflated and from there it was always going to reach every position. You saw it with Virgil van Dijk £195,000 per week – just over £10m a year – including bonuses and a signing-on fee. Kepa was given the green light to fly to London after his lawyers attended La Liga’s offices to deposit his release fee and buy him out of his Athletic Bilbao and now with Alisson.” Given the current market, the £35m champions Manchester City spent bringing 24-year-old Ederson Moraes from Benfica looks good value 12 months on.“For someone, particularly at that age, to be playing so fearlessly is exceptional,” added Schmeichel (left). “As is his reading of the game.“It’s a trademark of Guardiola. You saw exactly how he played with Neuer as well.“If you can play like that, you can press so much higher up the pitch, meaning when the other team does eventually kick it long if it goes over the centre-halves’ heads you’ve a guy right behind.“He’s basically an 11th outfield player. To be able to play like that takes enormous bravery – the line between getting it right and wrong is so thin.“A potential misstep, a fraction of a millisecond too late or too early can be the difference. That’s real bravery. Last season he was definitely the best keeper in the league.” contract. He replaces Thibaut Courtois as Chelsea’s No.1, with the Belgian due in Madrid today to complete his £35m switch to the Bernabeu.Liverpool’s purchase of Roma keeper Alisson for £66m was a world record for only two weeks, and makes the two keepers the highest-priced players bought this summer. BLOW Pochettino will miss out on Villa star Grealish