What’s the story?
One couldn’t be blamed for thinking that a team which won the La Liga and the Champions League may not want to do some recasting in their troupe. Yet here we are, and according to the Daily Express, Real Madrid are eyeing Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois as the right man to stand guard by the woodwork at the Bernabeu.
In case you didn’t know...
Madrid have been pursuing a certain David De Gea for over two seasons. In what became a summer transfer saga that ended in embarrassing bathos a couple of years back, De Gea stayed at Old Trafford while Madrid stuck with Keylor Navas owing to the apparent ineptitude of a fax machine.
With United winning the Europa League and making their way into the Europe’s elite competition, De Gea seems determined to see at least this season through. With this as the backdrop, Madrid have turned their keen attention to Chelsea’s 6’5” tall guardian of the gates.
Antonio Conte who is wary of Real Madrid’s designs is reportedly already on the lookout for a replacement and has cast his eyes on PSG second choice Alphonse Areola.
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The heart of the matter
Navas didn’t have an entirely fulfilling season in 2016/17. The Costa Rican is no short of quality, however, his performances were inconsistent. Out of the 27 appearances he made in La Liga, the 30-year-old veteran has five clean sheets and out of the 12 appearances he made in the Champions League, Navas has only 1.
On the other hand, Courtois kept Chelsea’s net hassle free a staggering 16 times in 36 appearances in the Premier League. At 25 years of age, Courtois still has a long career ahead of him and this is one solid advantage that the Blancos can gain by signing the Belgian giant who won two Premier League titles with Chelsea in the past three years. In a recent interview when he was asked about the possibility of a contract extension at Chelsea, Courtois said he will stay provided he gets offered a solid contract.
In an interview with Marca, earlier in the summer, Navas had vowed to stay with Los Blancos and fight for his place as the Real Madrid no.1 and prove his worth. With no major advancements on the two players that Real has been linked with consistently, namely, David De Gea and Donnarumma, the Costa Rican’s must have been starting to feel settled.
But owing to the new turnaround, Antonio Conte is now focussing on landing PSG’s Alphonse Areola who plays second fiddle to Kevin Trapp in Paris after having appeared only a total of 15 times for the club in Ligue 1.
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Author’s take
Courtois is one of the best goalkeepers in the world right now. The Belgian international has played a vital role in both of Chelsea’s recent Premier League triumphs. He has earlier played for Atletico Madrid and is no stranger to the La Liga and therefore will not have any problems adapting to the conditions.
Real Madrid, sooner or later are going to have to look for a replacement for the 30-year-old Keylor Navas and with 25-year-old Thibaut Courtois open to a move, they need to look no further.
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