Thibaut Courtois ‘ready’ for Real Madrid debut against Girona having had to bide time behind Keylor Navas
Spanish newspaper Marca reported that former Chelsea shot-stopper was set for his Los Blancos debut on Sunday although manager Julen Lopetegui was remaining tight-lipped
THE waiting game could be over for goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois who is in line to make his Real Madrid debut against Girona on Sunday, according to reports in Spain.
Courtois swapped Stamford Bridge for the Bernabeu when he joined Los Blancos on a seven-year deal earlier this month.
The Champions League winners completed a £38m deal for the former Chelsea shot-stopper who had a year left to run on his contract.
But even with such a price tag, the Belgium international has not walked straight into the starting XI with manager Julen Lopetegui retaining faith in Keylor Navas.
But reports in Marca suggest the Costa Rican may make way on Sunday with Courtois coming in.
Both have been pushing each other in training although it was Navas who got the nod for their UEFA Super Cup defeat against Atletico Madrid and then again six days later in the league against Getafe.
He kept a clean sheet in the latter but former goalkeeper Lopetegui was giving nothing away in his pre-match press conference.
He said: “We are not decided on what is going to happen. I won’t say anything, tomorrow you will see.
“We have very good goalkeepers, very good solutions. Some have arrived slightly later but they are all good.
“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.”
Courtois made the switch to the capital two weeks ago after helping Belgium finish third in the World Cup.
The 26-year-old was also awarded the Golden Glove as the best keeper of the tournament.