The goalkeeping issue inside Los Blancos
Courtois or Navas? Who would you pick? Three years ago the answer would have been as clear as crystal however now circumstances have changed. After Real Madrid's disastrous goalkeeping situation after the departure of Iker Casillas, Navas stepped up to become the number one for Los Blancos. Looking forward from then he has three UCL wins and just recently a UEFA goalkeeper of the year award. He commands the defence and expertly denies many of the attackers which dare to challenge him from range or even from close range, however, Florentino Perez still has no faith in Keylor. Is it because he does not believe Navas is good enough to be number one for Los Blancos or is it because he feels he has unfinished business bringing in a new number one and Navas was only ever meant to be temporary? Well whatever his issue is it seems it has only escalated with Real Madrid reeling in golden glove winner Courtois to play in white however so far Navas seems to have been Julen's favourite and fans don't know why.
Navas is an exceptional goalkeeper and excels between the sticks especially when under Zidane. Zidane believed in Navas 100% and blocked De Gea's move to Madrid. An action which not only lost Real Madrid their greatest ever coach but also their greatest player ever Cristiano Ronaldo. Now without Zidane Navas' future looked uncertain however Julen is also fiercely protective of Keylor even with Courtois also an option. After being benched for Real Madrid's clash with Roma it's safe to say Julen favours Navas. Having two world-class goalkeepers in your team will never work. Both will be hungry, both want game time and both want to be better than the other. Eventually, something will give. Julen's situation is even more precarious as his decisions could cost him his job if he does not please Perez. Courtois will also be quite sceptical of his importance if he is consistently snubbed by Julen. With Navas nearing retirement age and Courtois at his absolute prime the logical thing to do would be to hand the number one shirt to Courtois, however, Julen is refusing to do so. If Courtois hadn't made the move to Madrid I personally would have kept Navas as my number one however with Courtois here now at a prime age and Navas nearing the end of his career Courtois should receive the number one shirt. Keylor has made it exceptionally clear that he has no intention of leaving Real Madrid however with Courtois inevitably going to receive the number one shirt maybe that is the best option for Keylor. If he wishes to keep playing with large amounts of game time maybe Keylor should look to make an exit like Casillas however if he wishes to be benched for 90% of his games at Los Blancos then that is his and Perez's choice.
Thanks for reading and please leave an upvote :),
Angus Mclaughlin