Player Focus: United Would be Mad Not to Demand Navas in Any Deal for De Gea
While uncertainty still remains over whether the Spaniard will leave this summer or next, one thing for certain is that David de Gea's time at Old Trafford is coming to an end. Last year's PFA Player of the Season nominee has been omitted from the matchday squad for the first two fixtures of the campaign as Real Madrid decide whether or not to make United an offer now or attempt to sign him on a free this time next year. At present, however, the keeper is odds on with the bookies to leave United before end of the month.
Formerly the Manchester giants' stance on the matter was clear. They would negotiate with Los Blancos provided that centre-back Sergio Ramos traded places with their shot stopper. With the defender having since renewed his contract at the Bernabeu, United have no chance of bringing Ramos to Old Trafford and now seem set to lose out on another top target, with Nicolas Otamendi expected to sign for rivals Manchester City.
The desire to sign a new centre-back has been obvious and in all likelihood remains but, following a strong start to the season from Chris Smalling and Daley Blind, coupled with the impending return to fitness of Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones, the need has perhaps been dampened. Instead Wayne Rooney's underwhelming displays as the club's leading front man have accentuated a requirement to add strength in depth up front, while any sale of De Gea would potentially leave Van Gaal light in the goalkeeping department.
Victor Valdes, like De Gea, is also expected to move on before the end of the window having started just one senior game for the club, which would leave summer arrival Sergio Romero facing modest competition from Anders Lindegaard and Sam Johnstone. The Argentine looked shaky in midweek and hasn't really been stretched so far this season, producing just 5 saves on his way to back-to-back clean sheets. He is certainly experienced enough to fight for the number one spot between the posts but has lacked playing time at club level in recent years.
For now he represents a capable incumbent of a starting berth at United, but there is an incredibly obvious alternative staring the Red Devils in the face in order to keep the 28-year old on his toes at the very least.
Real Madrid's decision to let club legend Iker Casillas leave this summer was believed to pave the way for De Gea's arrival, but with the deal being held up due to United's demands to exchange his services with those of Ramos, the Spanish outfit acted fast to bring in a replacement for the veteran. Near-namesake Kiko Casilla arrived from Espanyol, which could leave Keylor Navas very much in the lurch in the capital.
The Costa Rica international followed up a sensational campaign with Levante in 2013/14 - earning a place in WhoScored.com's European team of the season with a rating of 7.22 - with an equally impressive showing at the World Cup last summer. Navas secured a score of 7.42 in Brazil as the Central Americans emerged as the tournament's surprise package, progressing through the group stages and into the quarter-finals at the expense of the likes of England and Italy.
The 28-year old played a crucial role in Costa Rica's success, conceding just twice in 510 minutes of action to convince many that he would be Madrid's first choice keeper in the upcoming campaign. Ancelotti, however, persisted with Iker Casillas in both domestic and European competition despite calls for the captain to lose his place, with Navas making just 6 league appearances. Having conceded just 3 times and produced 11 saves, Navas didn't disappoint but never got the chance to prove his worth and doesn't seem likely to ahead of La Liga's restart this weekend.
The point remains, however, that as of last summer Navas was rightly considered one of the top keeping talents on the continent. His athleticism was unrivalled in Spain during his final season at Levante, playing a starring role in the club's unlikely top half finish, with only La Liga's top four in 2013/14 conceding fewer goals. Of the 43 goals Levante conceded that season, 4 were shipped in the one game that Navas missed.
For any keeper to make the most saves in the league (160) – no keeper across Europe's top 5 leagues produced more in actual fact - and rank second in terms of clean sheets (16) for a side of Levante's calibre is nothing short of remarkable. Les Granotes conceded the fourth most shots of the 98 teams in Europe's top 5 leagues but were still able to rely on an excellent defensive record thanks to their star between the sticks. A save success rate of 80.4% was unsurprisingly the best in La Liga in 2013/14.
With all of this in mind, and United's impending pressing need to add to their goalkeeping ranks, it's baffling that Navas' name has only been mentioned in passing with a move in the opposite direction to De Gea. The young Spaniard's strongest asset, witnessed on multiple occasions last season, is his reflexes, as noted in his player characteristics at WhoScored.com. The same could be said of Navas, who compensates for a modest 6'1" frame with an exceptional leap.
Moreover, at 28 Navas' best years are very much ahead of him. To spend them wasted on the bench at the Bernabeu would be something of a travesty. With that in mind, if De Gea's return to Madrid does go ahead as expected, United may be wise to cut their losses and try and get their overlooked understudy in return. Navas, after all, is a top class keeper very much in waiting.
Should United cut and run in a deal for De Gea or allow him to leave for free next summer and would Navas be a worthy replacement? Let us know in the comments below
