Pepe Reina knows Maurizio Sarri well.
Chelsea had a busy end to the transfer window as they replaced Thibaut Courtois with Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Kepa joined from Athletic Bilbao for a world record fee of £71.6m – the second time that record was broken this summer after Liverpool signed Alisson Becker from Roma.
But it might not have happened had it not been for former Liverpool and Napoli goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who Kepa has cited as the reason that he decided to join Chelsea.
During his first press conference as a Chelsea player, Kepa revealed that it was Reina’s endorsement of Maurizio Sarri that persuaded him to make the move.
Kepa says he thinks he can adapt to Maurizio Sarri's style of play and he finds it very attractive. He reveals Pepe Reina endorsed it from his time playing under Sarri at Napoli, and Kepa adds he has experience of a similar style from playing for Spain. #WelcomeKepa
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 9, 2018
Reina played under Sarri for three years before moving on to AC Milan this summer, when Sarri also moved on to join Chelsea. Reina was deemed surplus to requirements by Liverpool in 2013, but proved to be an excellent signing for Napoli, as he was comfortable playing Sarri’s style of play, which heavily involves starting attacks from the goalkeeper.
Chelsea fans will be hoping that their new goalkeeper will show the same sort os suitability to Sarriball that Reina showed at Napoli.
