Real Madrid should pick Alphonse Areola over Andriy Lunin
By Ben Sundock
Real Madrid surprised many fans by selling Keylor Navas to Paris Saint-Germain and brought in Alphonse Areola on loan as part of the deal. Nearly a year later, it is almost a guarantee Areola stays and the club moves on from Andriy Lunin.
Other than being understaffed at the striker position – there are only four players owned by the club who can play as the number nine – Real Madrid is lacking in goalkeeper depth.
There are only four goalkeepers that the club has rights to at the moment and other than Courtois, there is little in the way of backup. Remember, Alphonse Areola is on a one-year loan from PSG after the Parisians bought Navas at the end of August, leaving Zinedine Zidane with his son, Luca, and Andriy Lunin as the only options moving into the fall.
Luca has not been at his best while playing with Santander in the second division, allowing 37 goals in 29 appearances. To make matters worse, Santander sits near the bottom of the table and are in grave danger of being relegated.
Lunin, on the other hand, has probably had a worse loan stint than Luca Zidane as hard as that is to believe. As I wrote about back in May, Lunin was with Vallodolid for the first half of the season, but was so poor and unwanted, the loan deal was terminated and he was sent to Oviedo in the second tier of Spanish football.
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In nine league appearances before the coronavirus put a halt on play, Lunin had allowed 10 goals and had a save percentage of .759. His stats with Leganes last year were not much better as he only made five appearances despite Real Madrid coaches believing he would compete for the starting spot.
Comparing both Luca and Andriy’s stats to those of Alphonse Areola makes it rather clear who Zidane and the Madrid board should choose moving into next season.
Areola has performed well despite making just a handful of appearances this season – he has made six in all competition – and besides that poor showing against Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey, he has been an adequate backup.
Real Madrid won six of the seven matches he started and maintained a solid save percentage. Lunin’s last two seasons on loan are cause for concern and I am unsure if he is the future in net.
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