"He seems happy to me," Thomas Tuchel said of Kepa Arrizabalaga to Chelseafc.com after the keeper helped keep a clean sheet in the win against Spurs.
"Everybody wants to have more minutes, but we have contracts for 24 players including the goalkeepers. We simply cannot give everybody the same amount of minutes.
"It is more dramatic for the goalkeepers because obviously, you don’t change within games, so the situation seems worse, but I don’t feel Kepa like this.
"I feel an open guy, a humble guy, a super nice guy, a top, top professional, and a big part of this squad.
"I feel him happy. Maybe he could be happier in terms of having more minutes, but I don’t feel him concerned at the moment because he is pushing and he is fighting for his chances.
"His mindset is calm and he is positive. It was not necessary for him to prove to me he is a good goalkeeper. I see it every day in training.
"Maybe he is at the point where he does not try too hard to convince everybody he is worth the money the club paid. Who cares about the money?
"Okay, the money was paid, so what now? We have two strong goalkeepers and we need both of them. If you need any proof, look at the weekend, when he was the key factor to have a clean sheet.
"If the money is too high or too low, these measurements do not exist for us. I have a feeling the pressure is off his shoulders."
Kepa was signed for Chelsea back in 2018 for a fee of €80 million which made him the world-record signing for a goalkeeper.
After two torrid seasons under Sarri and Lampard, it seems that the keeper has finally found his form with Tuchel and is a reliable number 2 option now.
