KEPA ARRIZABALAGA fears he has played his last game for Chelsea.
The troubled keeper expects to be left out of Saturday’s FA Cup final against Arsenal and Willy Caballero, 38, to get the nod.
And the £71.6million club-record signing is convinced he will not win his place back for the last-16 Champions League tie at Bayern Munich a week later.
With Chelsea trailing 3-0 from the first leg, it looks likely to be their final game of the season.
Kepa, 25, is resigned to his fate of being offloaded by boss Frank Lampard in the transfer window.
Chelsea have been linked with some of Europe’s top No 1s throughout a miserable campaign for the world’s most expensive goalkeeper.
Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak, Burnley’s Nick Pope and even Bayern’s Manuel Neuer were all touted as possible replacements.
Borussia Dortmund’s Roman Burki was another considered until he signed a new contract with the Bundesliga club.
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Kepa was axed for the Blues’ final Prem game against Wolves last Sunday and Caballero kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win.
It was seen as punishment for the five goals he conceded four days earlier, when Chelsea lost 5-3 at champs Liverpool.
Kepa believes he is being made a scapegoat for the team’s wider problems in Lampard’s first year as head coach.
There have also been significant reshuffles in the backline and tactical rejigs in an attempt to plug a leaky defence.
Former Athletic Bilbao ace Kepa was dropped for five games in March but reclaimed his spot and saved three points in a vital win at Crystal Palace earlier this month with a sensational late save.
But the downcast star is now ready to accept his fate, even though he is only two years into a massive seven-year contract.
The high price Chelsea paid for him in 2018 would put off all but the world’s top teams.
SunSport revealed last Sunday how Kepa is willing to accept a cut on his £150,000-a-week wages to end his Blues’ misery, if the right ‘project’ comes along.
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