With rumors of Keylor Navas' imminent transfer to Real Madrid swirling, Diego Lopez's agent, Manolo Garcia-Quilon, has made one thing abundantly clear: His client will not be phased out.
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According to Spanish reports (via Marca), Quilon is convinced Lopez will compete for and remain Madrid's first-choice goalkeeper. "Diego is not going anywhere," he proclaimed. "He wants to be a regular starter at Real Madrid and is going to work harder than ever for them."
"He is going to put everything he has into the club", Quilon added. "He will convince the coaching team once again that he is a Real Madrid goalkeeper".
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Despite finishing the 2013-14 campaign conceding one goal per match and averaging 2.11 saves per goal, Lopez failed to aid Los Blancos in their chase for the league title. In fact, Real Madrid were able to capture both the Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League title with Iker Casillas between the posts instead.
By comparison, the potential incumbent, Navas, is statistically ahead of his competition. The 27-year-old finished his La Liga campaign with 17 clean sheets and an average of 3.71 saves per goal. That number made an astronomical jump during the World Cup, rising to 10.5 saves per goal.
If Lopez is to remain at the Santiago Bernabeu, working harder than ever might not even be enough to retain his starting role. A more potent and reliable goalkeeper in the form of Keylor Navas will be too much for Carlo Ancelotti to overlook.
Should Diego Lopez remain at Real Madrid to compete for a starting role? Leave a comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via Squawka).
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