Chelsea have been heavily linked with a move for Burnley keeper Nick Pope during the summer transfer window as a replacement to Arrizabalaga.
The Blues current No 1 has been under heavy scrutiny this season making a number of high profile mistakes in front of goal and this is why the manager is reportedly looking at Nick Pope as Kepa’s alternative.
Pope joined Burnley in 2016 from Charlton Athletic for a meagre transfer fee of 1.3 million euros and this season the 27-year-old has been superb for Burnley keeping 11 clean sheets in just 29 Premier League games for the club.
And this is why Frank Lampard has chosen the England international to be his next No 1 for the upcoming seasons.
Chelsea paid a huge transfer fee for Kepa Arrizabalaga but the Spaniard has turned out to be a very poor buy for the Blues.
Up until now, it seemed like Chelsea would find it difficult to secure the signing of Nick Pope in the summer since the keeper still has two years left on his current deal at Burnley meaning the club will not let him leave so easily.
Now though it seems like Burnley are already preparing for life without the services of the 27-year-old.
As per a report, the Clarets are ready to give Joe Hart a chance to be their No 1 for the upcoming season indicating that Nick Pope could be on his way out.
Nick Pope to Chelsea confirmed?
According to TransferMarkt, Nick Pope is valued at 12 million euros but surely Burnley will quote an astronomical price for the keeper.
While the Blues do have the budget to pay a handsome fee for Nick Pope but we feel a lot of that will depend on whether they can offload Kepa in the summer.
At this point in time, there are no major clubs who want to services of the keeper meaning the last thing Chelsea can do is to quote a massive price for Kepa.
So in such a scenario, if the Blues cannot offload Arrizabalaga for the right price in the summer then they might have to end up paying for Nick Pope out of their own pockets.
UPDATE(31st March 2020):
Chelsea are set to suffer a major setback since it’s being reported that Tottenham Hotspur are also interested in signing Nick Pope.
It’s being claimed that Mourinho is not happy with the performances of Hugo Lloris so far and hence he wants a fresh face in front of goal next season.
And if this is the case then it will surely be bad news for Chelsea since they will first have to offload Kepa before they can think of bringing in the Burnley keeper in the summer.
