According to information from The Athletic, Chelsea has rejected Al-Ittihad’s first offer for goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Specifically, Al-Ittihad expressed their intention to recruit Arrizabalaga but the first purchase offer was rejected because the fee offered was too low compared to Chelsea’s demands .

However, the source confirmed that the representative of the club from the Saudi Pro League is still in contact with The Blues and will soon make a second offer.

The Spanish star still has a two-year contract with the Stamford Bridge team. Last season, the former Athleic Bilbao star played on loan at Real Madrid but was sent back this summer after failing to win the trust of coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Since January this year, the 29-year-old player has only played 1 match for Los Blancos, personal mistakes and injuries suffered in November have caused Arrizabalaga to lose his starting position to Andriy Lunin. In addition, Thibaut Courtois’ return after recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee is also a major reason why the Santiago Bernabeu team has not activated the buyout clause for Arrizabalaga.

Arrizabalaga is being sold by Chelsea.

Arrizabalaga joined Chelsea from Bilbao in the summer of 2018 for £71 million, making him the most expensive goalkeeper in the world. However, in the past 6 years, the 1994-born goalkeeper has not contributed much to the West London club despite winning many prestigious titles such as the Europa League, Champions League, European Super Cup and Club World Cup.

New coach Enzo Maresca does not consider Arrizabalaga part of his future plans because the Italian coach prefers to use Robert Sanchez or Djordje Petrovic.