Kepa keen to take pay cut on £150,000-a-week wages as Atletico Madrid and Sevilla eye transfer for Chelsea keeper
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KEPA is willing to take a pay cut if it helps end his Chelsea misery.
The Spanish keeper came under fire again this week for his performance in the 5-3 defeat at Liverpool and is now resigned to leaving the club.
The latest criticism comes on top of being dropped by boss Frank Lampard earlier in the season over a dip in form and continued speculation that Chelsea are looking at bringing in a replacement.
Kepa, 25, who earns around £150,000 a week, is two years into a whopping six year contract and knows the terms of his deal at Stamford Bridge make him an expensive buy for a new team.
He has been linked with moves back home to Seville and more recently as part of a swap deal involving Jan Oblak of Atletico Madrid.
Chelsea paid a world-record £71.6million for Kepa in the summer of 2018 but while the young keeper loves life in London, is struggling to convince Lampard that he is cut out for the Premier League.
Chelsea are on the brink of qualifying for the Champions League today with a top four finish but have conceded 54 goals the season - more than any team in the top 11.
The five let in at Anfield on Wednesday has only fuelled rumour that Lampard is looking to buy a new keeper during the summer transfer window which opens tomorrow and runs until October 5.
In addition to Oblak, Burnley’s Nick Pope and Manchester United’s promising young keeper Dean Henderson, on loan at Sheffield United, have been linked with Chelsea.
Chelsea even sniffed around Borussia Dortmund keeper Roman Burki until he signed a new deal with the Bundesliga club.
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Kepa would prefer to maintain his existing personal terms with a move but is ready to swallow a reduction in pay if the ‘project’ at a new club excites him.
Chelsea need a point this afternoon in their final match of the season against Wolves to secure Champions League football for next season.
Wolves must win to ensure participation in next season’s Europa League but with only 51 goals has scored fewer than any of the top seven.