Every summer brings a handful of transfer sagas that one can honestly label as the most tedious/protracted/downright annoying of the window. In 2023, you can definitely apply the label to both Kylian Mbappe and Moises Caicedo, two players strongly linked with Chelsea this summer transfer window.
Before we get to them (Caicedo is covered in this post, as the Ecuadorian midfielder has now completed his Chelsea medical), however, let’s cover the the transfer news that is actually a done deal:
? #WelcomeKepa ? pic.twitter.com/HeiYT6CXpg
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) August 14, 2023
Kepa Arrizabalaga going out on loan to Real Madrid.
With Real Madrid’s No. 1, Thibaut Courtois, out for most of this season with an ACL injury, the Bernabeu replaced the former Chelsea man with…wait for it…the same guy who succeeded Courtois in west London. How original! The loan deal is for the duration of the season, with no buyback clause.
The 28-year-old Spanish international joined the Blues for £71.6m, a record breaking fee for a goalkeeper, from Athletic Bilbao in August of 2018.
More on this Kepa move, what it means and the future of the GK position at this link.
Now, on to Mbappe, who is probably as big of a drama king as there is in all of world football. The French superstar and his current club, Paris Saint-Germain, are like the Seinfeld characters Elaine and Putty (the hockey obsessed man played by Patrick Warburton)- they always “break up,” but then they always get back together.
This has been the third straight summer of Kylian Mbappe is leaving PSG, Joining Real Madrid narratives, and it looks like, yet again, it’s not going to happen. So is he going to join Chelsea instead? The Blues have been linked for awhile.
How about Liverpool? Anfield has also been linked for some time.
However, there have also been reports, over the weekend, claiming that his camp is in talks about actually renewing his contract at PSG. Really? After all this cray-cray drama?
Well, L’Equipe says no, that is not the case, and thus Real Madrid are reportedly remaining confident that they will finally get their man this summer. If you want to read more about this contract stand-off/mother of all transfer sagas, go here and here.
???| JUST IN: Kylian Mbappé and PSG are NOT discussing a contract renewal as part of their talks. @lequipe #rmalive pic.twitter.com/V510x2vCr3
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) August 14, 2023
If you don’t want to read any more about it, we totally understand why, and we promise we won’t be offended.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.
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