Ex-Chelsea goalkeeper Schwarzer believes Kepa can kick-start his career again

Kepa Arrizabalaga can kick-start his career again after being dropped for Willy Caballero, believes ex-Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, but he fears that if the Spaniard fails to make a positive impression soon then he will be sold.

Frank Lampard has opted to use a 38-year-old No.1 goalkeeper ahead of the world-record £71 million signing from Athletic Club after a run of bad form earlier this season.

Caballero has started the past four games, including appearances against top-four Premier League rivals Leicester City, Manchester United and Tottenham, as well as playing in the Champions League round-of-16 match against Bayern Munich.

Schwarzer has been both a No.1 and a No.2 in the Premier League, including a stint deputising for legendary goalkeeper Petr Cech at Stamford Bridge. He weighed in on the huge call that Lampard made by dropping Kepa for a prolonged period.

"I am not surprised but I think it was a massive call," Schwarzer told Goal. "Whenever the manager decides to change a No.1 because he doesn’t feel that the performances have been at the level they should is a huge call itself.

"If a goalkeeper comes in and has an absolute disaster then I can understand a manager deciding to bring the No.1 back in - but he didn’t. Caballero has come in and done a job. You wouldn’t say he has been outstanding but you wouldn’t say he has done badly.

"You know with Caballero what you are going to get. I think the fact he made the decision that he believed he needed to make means he needs to stick with it for a little bit. I think that Kepa is all about his reaction and how he gets his head down.

"He was conceding far too many goals, goals you would analyse and say on another day that he should have saved it. You analyse it and if that stuff happens too often, then you ask is it a technical problem?

"I am not sure where they are at in training and how they have adapted it. How are they trying to help him? There is no doubt that they will be trying to get him up to speed. One of the things for goalkeepers is that we are pretty set in our ways.

"Kepa will have a way that he trains, a way he likes to prepare for games and if you have a goalkeeping coach and other people trying to change it then that can cause resistance at times.

"It can take time to actually take it on board and accept the need to try and take a different technique and change things a bit. That might take time to do it and if they don’t embrace it then that can have a detrimental effect.

"I think with Kepa, he is just trying to find his way. With Kepa, he has not been at a club like Chelsea before and he is under the spotlight even more than at Athletic Club. This is still a learning process for him. He is still young.

"For Kepa, it could be the best thing that has happened to him that he comes out of the limelight that he gets back to training and working hard. Then he might get phased back in again in a couple of games' time.

"There is an expectation at the club. Chelsea have had a run of goalkeepers who have been world class and then when you are not seeing the same consistency in goal then it stands out very much.

"With Kepa, that’s the problem. He has had to fill some huge shoes from top-class goalkeepers. He hasn’t played consistently at the level that Chelsea staff, fans and owners are used to."

Chelsea are now thought to be looking at potential replacements for Kepa with Ajax's Andre Onana interested in becoming the club's new No.1.

Schwarzer doesn't feel like any decision will have been made with their asset who still has more than five years left on his contract that is worth around £170,000 a week.

"I think he will come back in the team between now and the end of the season and I think it all depends on how he performs when he gets an opportunity," Schwarzer added. "There are concerns but I don't think they will have made a decision on his future.

"I think when he comes in towards the end of the season that will be his opportunity to prove whether or not he has learned, worked hard enough and start performing better so the club can make a decision on whether to stick with him or to look to bring someone else in."

Optus Sport is the exclusive broadcaster of the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League in Australia.