Kepa Arrizabalaga has revealed that the Spanish contingent in the Chelsea squad have helped him to settle better at Stamford Bridge since he joined the club this summer.
The west London club paid a world record fee in excess of £71m to snare the Spanish goalkeeper away from Athletic Bilbao during the summer transfer window.
Chelsea were in the lookout for a new goalkeeper as Thibaut Courtois, who eventually joined Real Madrid, wanted to leave and they decided to trigger the release clause in Kepa’s contract with Athletic Bilbao.
The goalkeeper has made a decent start to his time in England with Chelsea and he admits it has become a lot easier for him to settle inside the Blues squad because of the presence of a healthy dose of Spaniards at the club.
Talking about his start at Chelsea, Kepa told Spanish daily AS: “It was important that there were team-mates that I already knew from before.
“[Cesar] Azpilicueta, [Alvaro] Morata – with their help it has been easier because entering a dressing room where you already know people, the process becomes faster.”
The 23-year-old, who was part of Spain’s World Cup squad, has kept two clean sheets in his first four Premier League games for the Blues.
