Chelsea announce £71.8million signing of new No.1 Kepa Arrizabalaga

Chelsea have confirmed the club record signing of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

The Athletic Bilbao stopper signed a seven-year deal to become the most expensive goalkeeper in football after Chelsea paid his £71.8million release clause.

Chelsea’s new addition beats the record fee Liverpool paid for Roma star Alisson last month and ends a hectic couple of hours at the club.
Kepa arrives to replace the departed Thibaut Courtois who joined Real Madrid earlier on Thursday evening, and the Spaniard expressed his delight at becoming a Blue.
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‘It’s a very important decision for me, for my career, and also for my personal life,’ Kepa said.

‘So many things attracted me to the club, all the titles the club has won, the other players, the city, the English Premier League. It’s an accumulation of things, and I am very glad Chelsea has decided to trust me and to take me in as well.’

Thibaut Courtois to join Real Madrid subject to medical, Chelsea confirm

Chelsea have reached an agreement with Real Madrid for the sale of Thibaut Courtois, the club confirmed.

Courtois will join Real once he has undergone a medical and agreed personal terms on Thursday.

Chelsea announced the news on the website, and confirmed the deal would see midfielder Mateo Kovacic move in the opposite direction.
Kovacic moves to Stamford Bridge as part of the deal (Picture: Getty)

Real confirmed Courtois will sign a six-year deal, and announced Kovacic would join the Blues on a season-long loan.
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Courtois will be presented as a Real player on Thursday at 1pm, which will end a week of turmoil for the Belgian and Chelsea.

The goalkeeper went AWOL from training and refused to return to London until Chelsea green lit his transfer to Real.

Courtois was desperate to leave Chelsea to live in the same city as his family.

Jerome Boateng opts to complete PSG switch over Manchester United transfer

Jerome Boateng will push to join Paris Saint-Germain this summer, according to reports in France.

The Bayern Munich defender has been linked with a transfer to Manchester United and has reportedly been in touch with Jose Mourinho about the move.

It is unclear if Boateng is keen on working with Mourinho at Old Trafford, with some outlets claiming the German rejected United for ‘footballing reasons’.

Le Parisien claim Boateng has now decided where his future lies and will complete a move to PSG once Bayern reaches an agreement with the French champions.
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Bayern want £50million for Boateng, but could sell for £40m with United set to be forced out of the race when the English transfer window closes on Thursday.

Boateng attracted the attention of several clubs this season, including Juventus and United’s bitter rivals Manchester City.
Bayern Munich's defender Jerome Boateng gestures during a team training session of the German first division Bundesliga team FC Bayern Munich in the team training camp in Rottach-Egern, southern Germany, on August 3, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Christof STACHECHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images
(Picture: AFP)

Bayern are happy to offload Boateng after growing tired of his ill-discipline in recent seasons.

United wanted to agree a loan deal due to concerns about Boateng’s injury history, but Mourinho is now set to miss out on the 29-year-old.

It remains to be seen if United can sign a centre-back after persistent pleas from Mourinho this summer.
MUNICH, GERMANY - AUGUST 05: Head coach Jose Mourinho of Manchester United speaks with Andreas Pereira of Manchester United during the friendly match between Bayern Muenchen and Manchester United at Allianz Arena on August 5, 2018 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
Mourinho has repeatedly asked for a centre-back (Picture: Getty)

Mourinho’s top target is Tottenham star Toby Alderweireld, and the Red Devils may move for several centre-backs on deadline day.

Approaches for Alderweireld and Leicester City’s Harry Maguire have already been knocked back, but United are considering bidding for both defenders before the transfer deadline.

There is also reports coming out of France that United are in talks with Chelsea to sign unwanted defender Kurt Zouma.

Arsenal weigh up Domagoj Vida transfer after Unai Emery confirms he is happy with squad

Unai Emery is happy with his current squad even if Arsenal fail to land Domagoj Vida on transfer deadline day, reports say.

The exit of Calum Chambers to Fulham on a season-long loan sparked rumours Arsenal could be about to move for a new centre-back.

Arsenal are considering whether to move for Vida after Besiktas quoted the London club £26.9million for the defender.
Emery is happy with the players at his disposal (Picture: Getty)
Arsenal did offer Besiktas a swap deal for Vida which would have seen either Danny Welbeck or David Ospina move in the opposite direction plus a transfer fee, but the Turkish club were not interested.

Ospina is in talks about a departure from the Emirates this summer and could join Besiktas, although that deal would be separate to any Vida agreement.

Arsenal need to raise some funds before lodging a formal bid and hope to sell Lucas Perez to West Ham in the next 24 hours.

The Evening Standard claim Emery has told Arsenal he is ‘content’ with the players at his disposal, but is waiting to see whether the club can agree a deal for Vida.

Manchester United meet with Layvin Kurzawa representatives ahead of potential transfer

Manchester United representatives met with members of Layvin Kurzawa’s team to discuss a deadline day transfer to Old Trafford, reports say.

Paris Saint-Germain are prepared to offload the left-back for £22million and have been in talks with Wolves and Tottenham.

But, L’Equipe claim United entered the race late on Thursday night in a bid to lure the 25-year-old to Manchester.

Kurzawa came in and out of the side last season and is prepared to leave the French champions in search of regular football.

United are desperate to complete a deal for a defender on deadline day, but were thought to be focusing all of their attention on a centre-back.