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| Zinedine Zidane |
Real Madrid could sell Thibaut Courtois or Keylor Navas this summer after head coach Zinedine Zidane said on Tuesday the club will have a clear first-choice goalkeeper next season.
Zidane also defended his choice to play neither keeper against Huesca on Saturday, instead of handing his 20-year-old son Luca only his second competitive start for the Spanish giants.
Courtois was signed from Chelsea last summer, despite Navas winning UEFAโs best goalkeeper award after helping Madrid win the Champions League.
Santiago Solari then put faith in Courtois during his four months in charge but Navas, a favourite of Zidaneโs, came back in for the Frenchmanโs opening game against Celta Vigo last month.
โAt the moment there are three good keepers and we are going to finish the season with them,โ Zidane said at a press conference on Tuesday.
โBut I assure you that next season there will be no debate about the goalkeeper, Iโll tell you that now. Itโs going to be very clear.โ
Luca Zidaneโs surprise promotion came after Courtois picked up a knock on international duty with Belgium while Navas had trained only once after returning from Costa Rica.
But it suggests Zidane feels his son, who joined Madridโs academy aged six when his father was playing for the club, is ready to compete for a place.
โLuca is here on his own merit,โ Zidane said. โHeโs been here for 16 years. If people who want to go on about the personal thing, I donโt care.โ
Madrid faces Valencia on Wednesday in La Liga, after needing an 89th-minute winner from Karim Benzema to beat Huesca 3-2 on Saturday and make it two wins from two since Zidaneโs return.
But Barcelona remains 12 points clear of them at the top of the table, with focus continuing on potential changes to Zidaneโs squad in the summer.
โI have spoken to the club and I have told them what we want to do,โ said Zidane.
โThis is an institution, a club with important people. We do things together, as always,โ he added.
Gareth Bale is among those whose future is in doubt. The Welshman was again whistled by some of the home fans on Saturday.
โI know whistles are never good, Iโve been whistled at, you have to accept it. You have to have the character for it,โ Zidane said.
โAbout Garethโs future, weโll talk about that at the end of the season. We have to finish the season then weโll see.โ
Zidane was more emphatic about the future of his World Cup-winning defender, Raphael Varane. โI want him to stay,โ Zidane said.
โWe donโt want a Madrid without Varane. Heโs a young player and he seems fine to me, he has not told me otherwise.โ
