Head coach Thomas Tuchel has revealed that he plans to hold discussions with Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga at the end of the season.
While the club-record signing has made 15 outings in all competitions this season, he missed out on a starting role in the FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Having also not featured in the last eight due to illness, the Spaniard's omission was somewhat of a surprise given how Tuchel has frequently talked up his professionalism and being deserving of more game time.
However, Tuchel has hinted that Arrizabalaga will remain on the substitutes' bench for the rest of the campaign, something which he accepts will inevitably lead to "honest" talks needing to be held in the summer.
The German told football.london: "It's always a thin line in these decisions, and there is never a 100% reason to go against Kepa because he deserves it, and we trust him. But this is such an obvious decision when you go for somebody [in goal] that you can't play the other person because there is no other position than goalkeeper. I think it will influence, of course, his feeling about it and how he sees it.
"Edou is the number one and deserves to be the number one. I think it's also important that a goalkeeper at this moment of the season feels this moment like it. I experienced different at other clubs, and it was never really good if you have these open situations – a mistake maybe then leads to a new open race. It's too sensitive this position for it.
"We need to be honest first of all with Kepa, and he has to stay fully involved like he is; yesterday in training, he was simply fantastic. Then he has to be open with us. For me, nothing needs to change as I like him a lot, and we need strong goalkeepers because it's a crucial position. But we need to reflect on it in the summer."
Although Arrizabalaga has over three years remaining on his contract, Chelsea will have to be realistic about the 27-year-old's valuation with no teams being prepared to get anywhere near the £72m fee which was paid in 2018.
Darren Plant
