According to Football.London, recent reports in Spain suggest Arsenal are interested in securing the services of Keylor Navas from Real Madrid during this January transfer window. The same reports also state that the Gunners are working on a £14m deal to bring the Costa Rican goalkeeper to North London this month.
The 32-year-old has lost his first-team place to Thibaut Courtois this season and has been a sporadic feature for the Galacticos during this campaign so far. He has made just eight appearances for Los Blancos this term, conceding eight goals while keeping three clean sheets across all competitions.
There is no doubt that the Costa Rican shot-stopper needs to switch clubs in January to gain more first-team opportunities in the coming months. It is clear that he is currently a second-choice keeper at the Spanish capital and so a potential move to North London might be a welcome one for Navas if he is willing to fight for his place in Unai Emery’s first-team.
Bernd Leno has mostly been impressive so far since making a switch to the Emirates Stadium last summer. However, Navas is more than capable of outperforming the German keeper if he is given a chance to showcase his talents in the Premier League. Hence, it’s a move that makes sense for both parties.
However, there are question marks on whether Arsenal are better off going for players who would strengthen other more critical areas of the Gunners squad. The Arsenal defence has looked average at best this season, and so Emery might be better off spending that £14m on a defender who would add some quality to his backline at North London.
The acquisition of Navas will be a smart addition for Emery’s side if they can afford it. If it means that they would do less business recruiting in the other, more pressing areas, of Emery’s squad, then it makes no sense as the money could be better of being spent elsewhere.
The Costa Rican will undoubtedly bolster Emery’s goalkeeping options even further and add more healthy competition for Leno, but the Gunners should instead prioritise on bringing in a quality defender before arranging any deal with Madrid for Navas.
