Tuchel confirms he will hold showdown talks with unhappy Chelsea keeper Kepa over his future
THOMAS TUCHEL will hold showdown talks with "unhappy" goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga over his Chelsea future.
The world's most expensive stopper, 27, arrived at Stamford Bridge for a whopping £71.6million in 2018.
However, since Edouard Mendy arrived two years later, the Spaniard has been reduced to a bench-warming or cup-keeper role.
He still has three years left on his seven-year contract in West London and could be on the move.
Mega-rich Newcastle and Lazio, managed by his former Blues boss Maurizio Sarri, have both been linked with transfers.
And Tuchel confirmed the pair would sit down for honest discussions to work out what is best for the former Athletic Bilbao stopper.
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The Chelsea boss said: "It depends what he wants and what his plans are.
"I know that we are very privileged to have Edou and Kepa in our squad.
"But I also know for sure that Kepa is not happy about the situation because he deserved to play more and he can be a very strong number one.
"He arrived as a number one so the situation is not easy. He has been a fantastic team player since day one and never let anybody down.
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"We did not have a conversation yet but I know that the goalkeeper coaches have these conversations at the moment and then we will take our time to speak with him and reflect on what’s best and what the possibilities are.
"As a coach, of course I’m super happy to have both strong goalkeepers so let’s see."
Arrizabalaga has played just 15 times this season across all competitions - three of his four Premier League games were when Mendy was away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
He has been an unused sub for 46 matches including the FA Cup final last weekend.
However, his standout moment of the season came in the Carabao Cup final where Tuchel sent him on at the end of extra-time to win the penalty shootout - only for Kepa to fail to save any of Liverpool's 11 spot-kicks and send his own effort flying over the bar.