Rob Green reveals his wife mistook Kepa Arrizabalaga for a young fan

'My wife turned to me and said, 'I think there is a fan here''

Former Chelsea goalkeeper Rob Green has claimed that his wife once mistook the club's £72million record-breaking shot-stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga for a young fan who was waiting for an autograph. Kepa signed for the Blues from Athletic Club in 2018 - arriving as the most expensive goalkeeper in world football to replace Thibaut Courtois, who was preparing to make the move to Real Madrid. The Spaniard - who arrived with a good pedigree - struggled to adapt to the Premier League and was involved in a well-documented fall out with first boss Maurizio Sarri before later being dropped by Frank Lampard following several errors. Ex-England 'keeper Green was Chelsea's third-choice goalkeeper behind Kepa and Willy Caballero, and the 42-year-old has since admitted that Kepa was under immense pressure for someone so young. He also revealed that his wife saw him at their hotel shortly after he first signed and thought that he was a child waiting for autographs. "I tend to forget how young he was when he signed, and he went from his hometown club to Chelsea as the world's most expensive goalkeeper," Green told football.london.

"He was still just a youngster really. I remember I was at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel after I signed and it was the summer holidays. My wife turned to me and said, 'I think there is a fan here. He's in a Chelsea tracksuit so he'll probably be coming over to say hello. He's the young lad over there with his mum and dad'.

"I looked over and then said, 'Oh no, that's the most expensive goalkeeper in the world. That's Kepa'.

"It was easy to understand why my wife would look at him as just a young lad. That is what he was. So to have the chance to take a step back [over the past year] and to look at the overall picture [was important]."

Kepa played 54 times in his first season under Sarri and helped the Blues reach the Carabao Cup final and win the Europa League. However, following the arrival of Lampard, he was dropped for Caballero and later replaced by Senegal international Edouard Mendy, who signed for the club from Rennes.

The 27-year-old has played just 11 times for Thomas Tuchel's side this campaign, making just four appearances in the Premier League.

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• Antonio Rudiger leaves training early after bust-up with Kepa
• Kepa Arrizabalaga admits making ‘big mistake” after being fined one week’s wages