Andriy Lunin: I should have stayed at Real Madrid

Goalkeeper Andriy Lunin insists he would never have left Real Madrid on loan had he known Keylor Navas would not be staying at the club.

Navas departed to Paris Saint-Germain and while Lunin joined Real Valladolid on a season-long loan deal, Alphonse Areola arrived on loan from PSG and has played in the absence of first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Luca Zidane has also exited Los Blancos on a similar loan arrangement to Racing Santander, but hypothetically had one of the two younger goalkeepers stayed – Areola would not have been signed.

“Nobody knew Keylor Navas would be leaving Real Madrid, I would have had the chance to stay if I had known,” Lunin told The Football Hub, as cited by Marca.

“Keylor’s attitude helped me being comfortable at the club. We often had lunch together and we always talked, which helped me a lot. He always asked about my situation and I’m thankful for the help he gave me.

“Valladolid have some high-quality players, training sessions are tough and very quick, but they’re good for my development.”

Lunin has yet to play on loan at Real Valladolid as he has not been able to place the club’s number one goalkeeper Jordi Masip.

Furthermore, the Ukrainian – who joined Madrid from Zorya in a €7.5m deal in the summer of 2018 – only started four La Liga games last season at Leganes, where hd could not displace Ivan Cuellar.

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