Real Madrid offer for 22-year-old goalkeeper rejected

Real Madrid need to bring in a goalkeeper this summer after Thibaut Courtois tore his ACL and could potentially be out for the entirety of this season. And if recent rumours are accurate, then the club are going to be signing Kepa Arrizabalaga from Chelsea on a season-long loan deal. He is not the only one that Los Blancos tried to sign though.

Giorgi Mamardashvili has been one of the best goalkeepers in Spain in recent times. The 22-year-old currently plays for Valencia.

It looks like Mamardashvili was on Real Madrid’s radar. But they were not able to agree a deal with Valencia for the talented Georgian international goalkeeper.

As reported by Hugo Ballester in Tiempo de Juego (via COPE), Real Madrid issued a formal offer to Valencia for Mamardashvili. Specifically, the offer consisted of a loan deal for a €5 million fee, with an option to buy for a €25 million transfer fee.

Real Madrid offer for 22-year-old goalkeeper rejected

Someone like Mamardashvili could have been an excellent addition to this Real Madrid team, even if for the short-term. But it was not to be.

Now, the club are set to bring in Kepa on loan for the season and it will be interesting to see how the Spaniard does back in La Liga. He came through the ranks at Athletic Bilbao and left the club in the summer of 2018 in order to join Chelsea for a record €80 million transfer fee, the highest ever shelled out for a goalkeeper.

Considering that fee, there were huge expectations surrounding Kepa. And unfortunately, he has not been able to meet many of them.

Kepa has had bright sparks during his time at Chelsea, but overall, it has been underwhelming. He has certainly not developed into the best goalkeeper in the world as many had hoped. It remains to be seen if he can turn his fortunes around at Real Madrid.