Arsenal have reportedly made an offer to Real Madrid for Keylor Navas as they search for a keeper to replace Petr Cech and David Ospina.

The report, which was picked up by the tabloids in the UK, originally came from the Spanish publication, Don Balon, who are one of the least reliable outlets around.

In fact, they are better known for their obsession with linking Arsenal with a move for Karim Benzema, something I’m sure they will still be doing long after the player has retired.

Don Balon write, “It’s about Keylor Navas. The Costa Rican goalkeeper is clear that the club is looking for a new goalkeeper for the next campaign. He did not like the treatment they are giving him, and he has decided to return the play.

“Keylor has on the table several interesting offers to leave Madrid. The one he likes most is the one that arrives from London, where Arsenal is already looking for a substitute for guarantees for Cech.

MADRID, SPAIN - OCTOBER 17: Keylor Navas of Real Madrid in action during the UEFA Champions League group H match between Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on October 17, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
(Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

“Keylor would be happy to go to English football and do so to stop at an Arsenal that will start a new project next season.

“A move for Real Madrid , which thought to include Keylor in some operation to lower the price of any possible bomb signing. But Keylor is on his own.

Reports started to surface at the end of last year that Navas was likely to leave Real Madrid this summer and with Arsenal looking for a keeper after selling their best one (by a distance) to Juventus, this link isn’t a hard one to make.

Navas’s days at the Bernabeu are said to be numbered with number two keeper, Kiko Casilla, reportedly close to replacing him in the starting lineup.

Real Madrid’s longstanding interest in Manchester United’s David de Gea is also cited as a reason Navas could be on his way this summer.

As for Arsenal, they are indeed looking for a keeper but where that search will take them is unclear. We recently compiled a report on the keepers we have been linked with, with a special eye on Sven Mislintat’s alleged personal recommendations, and you can check out that evaluation here.

Arsenal were first linked with a move for Navas in November. At the time, we covered the initial reports by saying:

They say that Arsenal would see Navas as a long-term replacement for Petr Cech. However, there are a few issues with this reasoning. The first is that Navas is 30-years-old [now 31]. You usually don’t sign players in their 30s as long-term replacements, not even goalkeepers.

The other issue is that there’s no way Arsene Wenger would be able to keep both Cech and Navas happy at the same time. On top of that, David Ospina, Emi Martinez and even Matt Macey are already at the club as cover for when Cech needs to be rotated or isn’t available.

The biggest obstacle of them all, though, is Madrid selling in the first place. Any sale would surely be dependent on them signing a replacement. The article cites Manchester United’s David De Gea and Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois, but neither club are going to be letting their number one keeper go in a hurry.

In February, the player said about his future“I don’t know if the club doubts me, but I have a contract.

“If they sign a goalkeeper in the future and let me compete, I won’t mind. It doesn’t intimidate me.”

Navas is under contract until 2020.