Real Madrid Transfer News & Rumors: Keylor Navas Struggling; Is He Staying For the Long Haul?
During the 2013-14 season, there was no doubt Keylor Navas was the best goalie in the Spanish League.
The Costa Rican almost single-handedly saved Levante from relegation with one brilliant performance after another. And after that season, Navas went on to dominate the World Cup as arguably the top shot stopper in the entire competition.
For his efforts, Real Madrid decided to bring him into the fold, but then something shocking happened. The netminder was relegated to the backup role behind struggling goalie Iker Casillas.
But Casillas has responded rather well to his opportunity at redemption, while Navas has struggled to assert himself as a top choice goalie.
Last season, the netminder finished with 16 clean sheets overall for Levante. In 2014-15, he has gotten significantly less starts and has gotten just two clean sheets in six matches that he has played. At times the netminder has been solid, as evidenced in the two Champions League tilts he started. But in his most recent affairs against Atletico Madrid, he was nothing more than mediocre to average at best.
Granted Casillas has also struggled against the crosstown rivals, but Navas was particularly poor in the recent Copa del Rey matchup. The first game featured two goals that would have been tough for any keeper, and one could argue he had no chance on the opener of the second leg.
But for all his mistakes this season, Casillas has not conceded as poor a goal as the second goal of the tie. The ball essentially went through Navas who actually got a piece of it and was at an angle that was advantageous to him. Fernando Torres did not have a great angle, and his shot was far from powerful. Navas failed, however, to get his full body behind it and saw it sneak right through him.
Not the kind of goalkeeping that inspires confidence.
And it seems that his passing and distribution is not producing that much confidence either. Navas actually averages more passes per game than Casillas (small sample size warning in this comparison) and has connected on just 61 percent, a steep difference from Casillas' 69 percent passing accuracy. Again the sample size is massive in difference because Navas has gotten all of six games this season, while Casillas has played in 23 matches.
The problem for Navas at this moment is Casillas looks like he has regained some of the form that made him one of the best of all time. He stopped two straight penalties in games prior and during the Club World Cup. He has made up for his poor aerial control in recent matches, and his reflexes seem to be back at their best.
Navas is a similar goalie to Casillas in that respect and has never excelled in the air. But the reality is, when given the opportunity, he has only looked like his dominant self sporadically. More reps will likely aid this situation, but the question beckons: Will he get those opportunities with Casillas playing as well as he has?
And with the David de Gea rumors growing, it might actually look like Navas' inability to assert himself might ultimately force him out of Madrid this upcoming summer.
Has Keylor Navas gotten a fair deal with Madrid? Should he be starting or should Casillas continue to get the benefit of the doubt?
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