Monday 2 March 2020 14:24, UK
Frank Lampard has praised the attitude of Kepa Arrizabalaga and says the goalkeeper has a future at Chelsea.
Kepa has not played since the 2-2 draw with Arsenal on January 21, a match which came four days after his late error gave Newcastle United a 1-0 win over the Blues at St James' Park.
Lampard described that result as a "sucker punch" in his immediate post-match assessment but a clearer idea of his assessment of the goalkeeper's performance has since been provided by his selection of Willy Cabellero for the following six games.
Chelsea play runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool in the FA Cup on Tuesday night and Lampard hinted the time may be right to recall Kepa, who became the most expensive goalkeeper in the world when he moved to London from Athletic Bilbao for £71.6m in August 2018.
"He's been professional, as expected," said Lampard, who made eight changes to his starting line-up in the previous round of the FA Cup.
"He's trained well and he's kept his head down, supported the team. I say the same every week because I get asked this every week, but he's been good."
When asked if Kepa has a long-term future under him, Lampard said: "Yes. Every player here is in control of their destiny in terms of how they play and how they train.
"This is Chelsea and we're trying to close the gap to the top. There's nobody who can be relaxed or loose, we're pushing every day. Of course in the summer we look at the group as a whole but we're not looking beyond the game tomorrow night."
In terms of his selection for the game against Liverpool, Lampard said: "This will be a team that gives everything to try to get through to the next round. I believe in the squad and sometimes you have to make changes. We make them case by case and game by game.
"But the team we select will give everything to compete with Liverpool. We've competed with them twice this season and try to win."
