Player Focus: Keylor Navas Ready to Step Up to Europe's Elite
In the largely unchartered world of football statistics, Keylor Navas was well-known before the World Cup this summer. An impressive season at Levante saw him win WhoScored's goalkeeper of the year award last season, and before the tournament we tipped him to shine in a difficult group where he was likely to be tested regularly. Even knowing just how well his campaign had gone, however, few would have guessed that he would do so well that post-tournament he would be heavily linked with a move to two of world football's biggest teams, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
Latest reports would have you believe that a €10m switch to the European champions is imminent, despite the Costa Rica number one only possessing one full season of top flight experience. A World Cup in which his lowly nation came top of a group including three previous world champions and then made unprecedented progression to the quarter-finals - via a penalty shootout victory over Greece in which Navas starred - has seen his stock sky rocket.
An average rating of 7.27 over the course of last season came after he made the most saves in Europe's top 5 leagues (160 in 37 appearances), helping a low-scoring Levante team to a top-half finish and the best defensive record outside the top 4. Having followed up his season with an incredible tournament in Brazil (rating 7.55 on average), Navas is now one of the planet's most in-demand goalkeepers and he could be moving across Spain to the capital in the coming days, set to replace one of the game's greats.
It is sad to see a legend's status crumble, but iconic Real Madrid stopper Iker Casillas has without doubt seen better days. After José Mourinho had chosen to demote him in the Portuguese's final season at the Bernabeu, Carlo Ancelotti continued to prefer Diego López in the Madrid goal. Casillas started every game in Los Blancos' victorious Champions League run, but even in the final he showed signs of decline. He was at fault for Atlético's opener, which so nearly ended up as the winning goal, and looked shaky with every cross that was put into his box.
Then, in Brazil, the Spain number 1 saw his world come crashing down as the reigning champions fell to respective 5-1 and 2-0 defeats to Netherlands and Chile. Casillas captained the side in both games and was at fault for a goal in each clash; he was one of only 4 players at the 2014 World Cup to make more than 1 error which directly led to a goal and he did so in only 2 appearances (the other 3 players all made 3 appearances). He ended the tournament as the lowest rated player in the whole competition (4.76). It is likely that his international career has reached its end, and there is certainly reason for Ancelotti to look at reinforcements in that department. In Casillas they have a deputy past his prime, whereas in Navas they would have a second goalkeeper who is ready for the rigours of La Liga and primed to challenge López for the starting spot.
A move to Madrid would make more sense for Navas than going to Bayern. Not only would his chances of first team football be significantly greater without arguably the world's best goalie, Manuel Neuer, standing in his way, but also Navas is used to playing for teams that have to withstand great pressure. Only 4 of the 98 teams in Europe's top 5 leagues conceded more shots last season than Navas' Levante (651), and he deals well with such bombardment. After leading the saves chart in Europe last season, he ranked fourth for saves made at the World Cup, with 21.
Bayern, though, assume such dominance in their football that Neuer is rarely called into action. They allowed their opponents fewer shots (306) than any other side in the top 5 European leagues last season, and they conceded, on average, just 3.1 shots on target per game. Although there is less in the way of shot-stopping to do at a team like Bayern, maintaining concentration throughout long periods without involvement in a game is a skill in itself. Neuer is a master of this, but it may not suit Navas. Granted, Madrid are also extremely dominant team, but they concede significantly more shots (414 last season) and average much less possession, too (58.8% to Bayern's 71.2%).
Three of Navas' four statistically calculated strengths relate to his exemplary shot-stopping, but he also boasts 'concentration' as his final strong point. He is not at all error prone, making only 1 error leading to a goal in 37 league appearances last season, but at either of his prospective clubs, that concentration will be put to the test. In a strange sort of way, it is sometimes more difficult for goalkeepers who are not tested for long periods, in that they have to stay alert despite having extremely little to actually do. It is certainly a different challenge, and one that it will be interesting to see if Navas can traverse.
What a year it has been for the Costa Rica number one. Jubilant fans in Brazil watched the minnows knock England, Italy and Greece out of the World Cup with Navas conceding only 2 goals along the way. The goalkeeper thoroughly deserves the attention he has been receiving and any big-money move he does eventually make. Going on his exceptional form over the past season and an eventful World Cup this summer, there is every reason to believe he can make the step up.
Do you think Navas is good enough to play for Real Madrid or Bayern Munich? Let us know in the comments below
