La Liga resumes on Saturday for Real Madrid, on the lawn of Athletic Bilbao, without Thibaut Courtois in the Madrid goal. The Belgian goalkeeper, victim of a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee, will be absent for several months and the club of Florentino Pérez will probably look for a high-level replacement for him, knowing that the number two goalkeeper, the Ukrainian Andreï Lounine (24), may not be strong enough to make up for the absence of the winner of the Yachine 2022 trophy. Here are some profiles that can fit into the Merengue framework.
David De Gea
The 32-year-old Spanish goalkeeper is free after twelve seasons at Manchester United since leaving Atlético Madrid, where he was trained, in 2011. André Onana succeeded him in the goal of the Red Devils and if his name circulated in Fenerbahçe and in Saudi Arabia it is still available. But he didn’t do any real preparation.
Hugo Lloris
The most capped player in the history of the France team (145 caps) has expressed the wish to live a new adventure after eleven seasons in the goal of Tottenham, even if he has one year of contract left with Spurs . At 36, he is therefore on the lookout for an attractive project, he is a reference that can correspond to the urgent need of Real and what could be more vibrant than Real to end, perhaps, his career in style.
Keylor Navas
Barred by Gianluigi Donnarumma at PSG, he was loaned to Nottingham Forest last season. At 36, he has one year left on his contract in the capital and PSG like him are listening to the market. But a return to Real does not seem obvious, as Courtois may return in the second half of the season and the cohabitation between Navas and the Belgian had not been idyllic before the Costa Rican left Real for PSG in 2019.
Yassine Bounou
He has the experience and the talent to keep Real’s goal, and the wind in his sails after a great season with Sevilla FC, as winners of the Europa League, and Morocco (semi-finalists of the World Cup). At 32, he has two years left on his contract with the Andalusian club.
A Spanish goalkeeper
Kepa Arrizabalaga is attracting interest from Bayern Munich and Chelsea, who signed him for €80 million in 2018, a record for this position, did not close the door to the departure of the 28-year-old Basque goalkeeper, who was imposed last season in the goal of the Blues. Therefore, he can also be a target for Real, but like everyone else, he would obviously be faced with the return of Courtois sooner or later and would have to accept that he is no longer number one, especially since the Courtois era is far away. to be completed (31 years). Real can also think of the goalkeeper of the Spanish team, Unai Simon, who has not yet switched to a very big club. At 26, he has two years left on his contract at Athletic Bilbao and is valued at €25m.
Kevin Trapp
The goalkeeper who passed through PSG is a safe bet for Eintracht Frankfurt, with which he lifted the Europa League in 2022. At 33, even if he extended in the spring until 2026, he could be seduced by the prospect of keeping the Real goal and the Champions League.
