The Real Champs
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3 Euro superstars who will be perfect signings for Real Madrid

By Sudhir Salvi

Carlo Ancelotti . (Photo by ADAM DAVY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Carlo Ancelotti . (Photo by ADAM DAVY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA – JULY 02: Unai Simon (23) of Spain celebrates after winning the UEFA EURO 2020 quarter-final football match against Switzerland at the Saint Petersburg Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia on July 2, 2021. (Photo by Dmitriy Golubovich/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA – JULY 02: Unai Simon (23) of Spain celebrates after winning the UEFA EURO 2020 quarter-final football match against Switzerland at the Saint Petersburg Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia on July 2, 2021. (Photo by Dmitriy Golubovich/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) /

Unai Simon: An excellent back-up goalkeeper option for Real Madrid

Unai Simon could be a solid signing and become the back-up goalkeeper to Thibaut Courtois. The two can give one another healthy competition and probably be used interchangeably during the busy parts of the season when fixtures occur every three or four days. There were several injuries last season at Real Madrid, and Courtois was lucky to be spared of one.

In the event that the Belgian suffers the coronavirus or a fitness issue, Los Blancos would have to trust Andriy Lunin. The Ukrainian failed to make his national team’s squad for the European Championship and appeared just once for Los Blancos last season – in a 2-1 Copa del Rey defeat at the hands of Alcoyano in the round of 16.

Although he is likely to be the backup goalkeeper for yet another season, there are very few signs which point towards him being trusted in the important matches when Courtois may be needing a rest, or even worse, possibly facing a fitness issue.

Simon already is an established goalkeeper and plays for one of Spain’s finest clubs, Athletic Bilbao.

He may however be an expensive signing as the Basque side is a tough club to negotiate with. Simon’s predecessor, Kepa, was sold for 72 million euros and has failed to live up to the hype at Chelsea. That tells us a lot about how much one may need to pay for Unai Simon.

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