Real Madrid exploring chance to sign Davis de Gea after Courtois injury: Reports
De Gea #DeGea
Real Madrid is looking to sign former Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea after an ACL injury of Thibaut Courtois, British media report Thursday.
According to Sky Sports, the La Liga side has made contact with the representatives of De Gea and exploring the opportunity to have him on a free transfer.
Courtois ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during training on Thursday. The 31-year-old Belgium international faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines and will undergo surgery in the coming days, his club said.
“Following tests carried out on Thibaut Courtois, he has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee,” Madrid said in a statement.
The club did not specify how long Courtois will be out but reports in Spain suggest he will miss most of the season, if not all of it. Courtois suffered the injury during a morning training session and left in tears, according to Cadena Cope radio.
He will be replaced in the team by Ukraine’s Andriy Lunin, with Madrid due to play Athletic Bilbao on Saturday in its first game of the season.
In such circumstances, having De Gea as the goalkeeper would be an intelligent decision for Madrid, with the Spaniard being more experienced and proved than the 24-year-old Ukranian, Lunin.
De Gea left Man United after spending 12 seasons, becoming the goalkeeper with most clean sheets (190) in the club’s history. In 545 appearances for the Red Devils, the most for a non-British player, he won the club player of the year award four times.
He won the Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup and the League Cup at Old Trafford and also won the Premier League golden glove twice, most recently coming in the 2022-23 season.
This is not the first time the Spaniard has been linked with Los Blancos. In 2015 , Real Madrid almost signed De Gea in a deal that could not go through on time due to a delay in submission of the transfer papers on time, as per a statement then submitted by Madrid.