Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is reportedly still an option for Real Madrid this summer, according to Guillem Balague.
The Sky Sports Spanish football expert has revealed that the La Liga giants still have a window of opportunity to sign Manchester United shot-stopper Davide de Gea this summer following on from their transfer saga last year.
However, that situation could now change given Jose Mourinho’s expected arrival at Old Trafford, albeit with naming rights standing in the way of a deal being completed as reported by Sky Sports, coupled with the fact that Keylor Navas has impressed at the Bernabeu this season.
In turn, Balague has revealed that Real’s focus may switch to Courtois, who could be open to the idea of moving back to Spain following a tough campaign with Chelsea.
“At the beginning of the season everyone expected De Gea to be the next Galactico but now the situation has changed, not only because Jose Mourinho has arrived at Manchester United, but also Keylor Navas has done really well,” he told Sky Sports.
“So what Real have done in recent weeks in case they don’t get De Gea, is try to convince Thibaut Courtois to go to Real Madrid.”
With a lack of Champions League football at Stamford Bridge next season and given his reported issues with the coaching staff at the club, as reported by The Independent, it could all be pointing towards an exit.
However, it is also worth considering the impact of Antonio Conte’s arrival at Chelsea later this summer, with the Italian set to reinvigorate the club and make changes to ensure that they get back to competing at the top of the Premier League.
Whether that’s enough to convince Courtois that he should stay in west London remains to be seen, but with Real seemingly likely to come knocking if they fail in their pursuit of De Gea, the Belgian international could be facing a tough decision in the coming months.