Real Madrid news: Lopetegui and Perez appear SPLIT on Thibaut Courtois
Posted Saturday, September 01, 2018 by Express.co.uk
Real Madrid news: Florentino Perez (L) and Julen Lopetegui (R) appear split over Thibaut Courtois (Image: GETTY)
REAL MADRID appear no closer to resolving the selection dilemma between Thibaut Courtois and Keylor Navas.
Courtois sealed his move to the Bernabau from Chelsea in a deal worth up to £35m but the honeymoon quickly ended with the Belgian goalkeeper yet to make his debut for Los Blancos.
The 26-year-old, who helped Belgium reach the semi-finals of the World Cup, has found himself on the bench for the first two La Liga matches of the season.
Madrid’s manager Julen Lopetegui appears no closer to revealing his intentions to pick Courtois to start over the Costa Rican shot-stopper Navas.
"My confidence in my goalkeepers is at the maximum," Lopetegui said.
"I can only play one but it doesn't mean that I don't have confidence in the others.
"We're calm and convinced that we have good solutions in that position.
"I'm not going to tell you who the goalkeeper is because every circumstance is different."
With Lopetegui appearing to take a diplomatic approach in keeping two goalkeepers happy, Madrid’s president Florentino Perez appears to have backed the club’s new signing to take over between the sticks, as he lavished praise on Courtois.
“The best goalkeeper of the World Cup, Courtois has arrived,” Perez said during the unveiling of the clubs latest signing Mariano.
"We had an exceptional squad already and we took advantage of this time to reinforce various areas.”
Perez made the revelation as he spoke about the club’s transfer policy. The president also made a plea to the Real Madrid fans that the club had not strayed from its historic policy of signing the best players in the world.
"We know that the road is the path traced by our president Santiago Bernabeu," Perez said.
"The best players in the world, the best in Spain and the best from our academy.
"We will remain loyal to our history. "
The arrival of Courtois has seen Navas step up and fight for his position.
The 31-year-old has even been left out of the Costa Rica squad, for the friendlies against South Korea and Japan, to allow him time to focus on keeping his place as Madrid’s first-choicegoalkeeper.
Speaking before last week’s 4-1 win away to Girona, Lopetegui hinted that he could implement a rotation policy for his goalkeepers between La Liga and the Champions League.
"We have very good goalkeepers, very good solutions. Some have arrived slightly later but they are all good,” Lopetegui said.
“We will make a decision and the one we pick will be good.
"With the Champions League, it could be a different solution but tomorrow, we know what we will do."
Madrid’s next La Liga game is on Saturday at home to Leganes andCourtois appears no closer to making his debut for the club.
Lopetegui has warned his players not to underestimate a side that knocked out Madrid from the Copa del Rey at the Bernabau last season.
"We've been working together for a long time but we have to keep working hard, like all teams at this stage of the season,” Lopetegui said.
"It will be a difficult game.
"They are well structured and with better players than last year."
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