Kepa Arrizabalaga will be "on his way" out of Chelsea this summer, according to Mark Bosnich, who has suggested that the under-fire goalkeeper has fallen out with Frank Lampard.
Chelsea forked out a club-record fee of £72 million ($93m) to bring Kepa to Stamford Bridge from Athletic Club in the summer of 2018.
The 25-year-old was drafted in to replace Thibaut Courtois following the Belgian's move to Real Madrid, and he was quickly thrust into the deep end by Maurizio Sarri.
Kepa's first year in west London was underwhelming, with his most notable moment coming when he refused to come off as a substitute during the Blues' Carabao Cup final loss to Manchester City.
Frank Lampard kept faith with the Spain international after taking over from Sarri last year, but he has continued to fall below the required standard between the sticks.
Chelsea conceded 54 Premier League goals in 2019-20, more than any other side in the top 10, and Kepa was dropped from Lampard's line-up following his latest questionable performance in a 5-3 defeat at Liverpool on July 22.
Willy Cabellero filled in for the Spaniard for a final day victory over Wolves, with Lampard admitting post-match that the most expensive 'keeper in history has had a "difficult time" of late.
Bosnich thinks Kepa's time at Chelsea is already up, and that his old club cannot afford to let a top-earner sit on the sidelines and run his contract down.
"When a big club that has been challenging for honours purchase a goalkeeper it’s for right there and right now," The former Blues shot-stopper told Sky Sports.
"He hasn't had a particularly good season and the bottom line is you have a fall-out with the manager in any kind of way, it's a slippery slope.
"So I can fully understand Frank wanting to basically take that level up and to say 'look, listen, he's just not for me, I want somebody else'.
"If that's the case then there's going to be an issue as the club shelled out so much money for him. I don't think they'll be able to recoup that money, they may be able to recoup some.
"And of course the goalkeeper can make it very difficult for Chelsea by saying that if you are going to sit me out of the team then I'll stay here on these massive wages and run down my contract for nothing.
"They've got a big decision to make. I think it's quite evident from what we've seen, and the fact that he didn't play in that last game of the season, that he will be on his way."