Tuchel: Kepa is 100 per cent reliable, a top goalkeeper

became

’s record signing when he left

in 2018 to join the Blues on a £71m deal.  Kepa gradually fell in form and after some week performances, he was replaced by

.

Mendy has done an outstanding job at Stamford Bridge, keeping 20 clean sheets in 31 appearances he has made for Chelsea. With Mendy being on his peak form, Kepa has lost his spot in the Blues’ pecking order, featuring just once in the Premier League in 2021,

Kepa has recently been left out of the Spain list for the World Cup qualifiers, and now the Spaniard fears he may not be called up for national duty for Euro 2020 due to his lack of action.

However, Chelsea boss

Thomas Tuchel

believes although not being picked up by Spain is disappointing for the 26-year-old, he is strong where he is.

"For Kepa it is a disappointment not to be selected right now,"

Tuchel said.

"That is clear, but he is super strong here, he is our player and it does not influence how we work with him and how we trust him and if we trust him and how we keep on going.

"It is his personal goal to be in the squad of Spain. Would it be easier if he played regularly? Clearly, yes, but it is not about his personal objectives, it is about Chelsea and we have set the communication straight between our goalkeepers that Edu is the number one and he is the competitor for that and he has to be ready and he is exactly doing this.

"He is 100 per cent reliable, top guy, top goalkeeping, top performance in training together with Willy Caballero; this is outstanding. That does not help our strikers because it is so super hard to score in training because of our goalkeepers.

"This is what he can do. Can we influence the decision from the Spanish national coach? No we cannot. Everything he can do is be focused and be ready. This is what he is doing and why I am super happy with him."

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