Despite Courtois, Navas will stay at Real
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY: Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas said the signing of Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois has not affected his desire to remain at the triple European champions as he emphatically ruled out leaving the club in order to be assured of first team football. “Tell everyone loud and clear, I have as much enthusiasm for leaving Madrid as I do for dying,” Navas said. Navas joined Real in 2014 and has helped them win a remarkable three consecutive Champions League crowns between 2016 and 2018. The keeper’s long term future has often been in doubt, however. He was on the verge of joining Manchester United in 2015 when Real’s pursuit of David de Gea fell through on transfer deadline day, while the club also failed to sign Spain goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga last January from Athletic Bilbao. Navas’s status as Real’s No 1 is now seriously threatened by the arrival of Courtois, who was awarded the Golden Glove for being the best goalkeeper at the 2018 World Cup and signed from Chelsea for a reported 35 million euros ($40.59 million).
FOXES SIGN BENKOVIC
LONDON: Leicester City have signed Croatian defender Filip Benkovic from Dinamo Zagreb on a five-year deal, the Premier League club said on Thursday. Leicester did not disclose the transfer fee but reports said the 21-year-old cost about 13 million pounds ($16.76 million). Benkovic, a Croatian U-21 international, arrives at the King Power Stadium after an impressive 2017-18 campaign with Zagreb in which he made 30 appearances in all competitions and helped them clinch the Croatian league title. Benkovic will become Leicester’s sixth close-season signing after Jonny Evans, James Maddison, Ricardo Pereira and Danny Ward and Rachid Ghezzal, subject to international clearance.
WEST HAM LAND PEREZ
LONDON: West Ham have announced the signing of Spanish striker Lucas Perez from Arsenal, confirming his arrival on a three-year contract.