Chelsea Star Kepa Arrizabalaga Brushes off €80M Price-Tag Pressure

Chelsea's record signing Kepa Arrizabalaga is not feeling the pressure of his price after arriving at the club for €80 million over the summer and has said he is not concerned with his expectations at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues were forced to move for a new No. 1 after Thibaut Courtois signed for Real Madrid late in the window, but former Athletic Bilbao star Kepa told AS (h/t Football Espana) he's not feeling intimidated by the figure:

"The price has nothing to do with me, it is only because of the market. Transfer fees are going up and up and will continue to do so, and for that reason I do not worry about any fee or expectation with that, it is normal.

"Life at Chelsea has started very well, it is always better when you are winning matches and also for me to have kept a few clean sheets.

"It is a good club for me to join because there are many Spaniards before me who have succeeded here and enjoyed success, and many are still here."

No sooner had Kepa arrived from the Basque country than the scrutiny started to emerge from his new English spectators, and an error in August's 3-2 win over Arsenal in the league drew quick comment, per Goal's Nizaar Kinsella:

The 23-year-old went on to say of the Blues: "This is a club who have won everything there is to win in recent years—the Premier League, the Champions League, the Europa League and the FA Cup. I accept that any transfer is a gamble, but I believe this is an important step in my career."

There's no question regarding Kepa's silverware prospects in west London compared to what they would have been had he remained at San Mames, where he developed with Athletic since joining at the age of 10.

He was still 21 when he made his La Liga debut but quickly made Athletic's No. 1 jersey his own, featuring for two seasons in Spain's top tier before Chelsea made him the most expensive goalkeeper of all time this past summer.

However, sportswriter Liam Twomey outlined the key details that led to Chelsea signing the player and suggested the Londoners were settling for an alternative caused by Courtois' decision to leave for Real:

Triggering his Athletic buyout clause was an act of desperation, perhaps, while journalist Simon Johnson discussed the bargain Real got with Courtois, who had entered the final year of his Chelsea deal before leaving:

The expenditure may be a huge one, but Kepa isn't fazed by the record figure it took to get him to England and is instead more concerned with proving why Chelsea were content to pay it in the first place.