Real Madrid are on the lookout for a new goalkeeper for at least this season after Thibaut Courtois suffered a distressing ACL tear in his knee. The Belgian international was stretchered off in training on Thursday, and now Los Blancos will force their way back into the market.
The 31-year-old goalkeeper is likely to miss all, if not most, of the season due to injury, and a shortlist was quickly drawn up for his replacement.
That list consisted of David de Gea, Sevilla’s Yassine Bounou, Valencia’s Giorgi Mamardashvili, Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga and Dinamo Zagreb’s Dominik Livakovic, with some mentioning Keylor Navas in line for a return.
Many assumed that De Gea was at the top of that list, given that he probably has the biggest reputation, is Spanish and is available for free after being released by Manchester United.
However, on Thursday night, the first reports emerged that the Moroccan Bounou may be the favorite to move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
According to Cadena Cope, a figure of around 20 million euros could be enough to convince Sevilla to part with him.
Part of the reason is that Carlo Ancelotti has his doubts about De Gea. The Italian manager is not convinced by the Spaniard and has vetoed his arrival.
While it cannot be completely ruled out, given that he is perhaps the easiest to buy, it seems unlikely that Los Blancos will go against the coach’s wishes.