Frank Lampard wants Chelsea to sell Kepa Arrizabalaga and could look to replace him with Crystal Palace keeper Vicente Guaita, according to reports.
Lampard dropped Kepa for Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Leicester and has been critical of the Spaniard’s performances this season.
Reports suggest Lampard wants Kepa sold in the summer but that the club are reluctant given the huge transfer fee of £71m that was paid when he was signed from Athletic Bilbao in 2018.
The Daily Mirror say Lampard and the Chelsea board “look set to clash” on the issue of Kepa’s future.
The newspaper say that the Blues boss is keen on Burnley’s England goalkeeper Nick Pope and that there is also interest in Guaita.
The Daily Express run a similar story, also declaring that Lampard wants Pope to replace Kepa at the end of the season.
The Express say “Chelsea’s board are reluctant to take a massive financial hit on Arrizabalaga” and that director Marina Granovskaia personally pushed the deal to sign him through when he joined on a seven-year contract.
Speaking about Kepa at a recent press conference, Lampard said: “Goalkeeper is a difficult job because the spotlight is really on you individually.
“At times he’s made good saves for us this season and at times he’ll say he wants to do better.
“He is still relatively young as a goalkeeper and wants to improve, as he should do. I think he can improve as much as all the team.
“I’m sensitive to the fact that goalkeepers are under the microscope. I appreciate that can be tough.
“The only thing to do is to work hard, keep your head down and be humble about how you work.
“He’s a good goalkeeper. We know that. There have been times this season when he’s saved us points. There are times when we say ‘OK, is that an individual error or a team error?’ Sometimes the goalkeeper takes the brunt of what happens as a team.”