REAL MADRID
Real Madrid target Chelsea's Courtois for summer transfer
With a longer term, stable solution being targeted as a replacement for Keylor Navas, one of the summer's big moves could be between LaLiga and the Premier League's top teams.Liverpool v. Chelsea live online
Real Madrid have already started to set in motion their transfer machine for summer 2017 after the CAS ruled that sanctions banning any move for a player for two windows would be reduced to just one. And one player that is already being courted is Chelsea goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois.
A percieved upgrade between the posts
According to the Spanish station Onda Cero radio show ‘El Transistor’, the 24-year old stopper is a key target for Madrid as they look to get an upgrade on current number one, Keylor Navas. Both he and back-up keeper, Kiko Casilla have done well for Los Blancos but at the age of 30 are not seen as the desired long-term answer for the team.
The interest in Courtois is not new. In his final year at neighbours Atlético (2014) Florentino Pérez tried to get him to move across town. But it was José Mourinho, who also wanted him to join London side Chelsea that won the signature of the big Belgian to compete with Petr Cech who then moved on to rivals Arsenal after being knocked down the pecking order.
A new goalkeeping challenge
Three years on and the rumours of him being a main Madrid objective for next season are back. But negotiating with Chelsea will be difficult given the important role he is currently playing for Conte's Premier League table-toppers. He still has two and a half years remaining on his contract and is valued at around 25 million euros. In Madrid's favour is the desire that Courtois has to return to the Spanish capital and play for the Bernabéu club in spite of the fact that he wore the red and white stripes of Atlético for three years.