Posted by Joseph Zucker

It’s been a little over a month since David de Gea left the Calderón for Manchester United. The £18.9 million paid for de Gea is the second most ever paid for a goalkeeper. Since that time, Atletico had been searching for his replacement. It appears that a temporary solution has been found in Thibaut Courtois.

Only 19 years old, the Belgian moved from Racing Club Genk to Chelsea for €9 million. It was rumored that Atletico were interested in signing Courtois to a permanent deal before the Blues got his signature. Having lost out on him, almost immediately it was announced Courtois would be moving on a season-long loan to Atletico Madrid. While highly rated, the loan move is a bit odd for the Rojiblancos since, already at the club are Joel, 21 years old, and Sergio Asenjo, 22 years old.
Surely, Courtois and Chelsea both know he will receive the majority of starts between the sticks. Otherwise, why make the move? It’s understandable that Atleti would seek another goalkeeper. Joel is a product of the Atleti youth system but has only made two appearances for the club prior to this season. The first coming as a substitute in May 2010 against Sporting Gijon when starting ‘keeper Asenjo picked up an injury during the match. The other was in the 2009/10 season finale against Getafe. Joel only got the start because manager Quique Sanchez Flores chose to rest de Gea for the Europa League Final against Fulham.

Asenjo is a different story altogether. Purchased from Valladolid in summer 2009, he was brought in as the replacement for departed goalkeepers Leo Franco and Gregory Coupet. Linked with possible moves to Barcelona and Manchester United, Atleti believed they were bringing in the next Iker Casillas, someone who could finally solve a serious problem for the club in the years prior. The 09/10 season started well for Asenjo until a string of costly mistakes brought doubt into the minds of the club personnel and supporters.

Flores’ arrival as manager added to Asenjo’s problems as he preferred de Gea. Not even making it to Christmas, he was dropped as starting goalkeeper in favor of de Gea. Things only got worse from there as he was injured in the match against Gijon allowing Joel to get his debut. He suffered a ligament injury to his left leg which ruled him out for six months. Returning in November of the 2010/11 season, he stayed at the Calderón a short time before being loaned to Málaga in the January window. He didn’t last very long as he injured the same knee on February 6 against Sevilla and was ruled out for the rest of the season.



Which brings us to the current situation. Asenjo has returned to Atletico with an apparent clean bill of health, but until he proves otherwise, questions will continue to persist over his left knee. He is penciled in as the third choice ‘keeper right now. Joel, while he shows promise, is untested at the senior level. He started in the 2-1 win against Stromsgodset in the Europa League 3rd round qualifying match. It appears that one of the two will leave with the arrival of Courtois, more than likely Asenjo. He told Eurosport Spain, “In case a third ‘keeper who can become a starter arrives, and taking into account what happened last year, I would rather play, and perhaps leave, since it would hinder the progression of the two.” Even in the event that one of the incumbent goalkeepers does depart on loan or is sold outright, it seems that Atleti has chosen to replace a young, untested goalkeeper with an even younger one who is unproven in La Liga. Rather than to help its own players develop, the club has decided to nurture Courtois until he is ready to move to Chelsea full-time, in which case they will receive no money. Whereas by developing a player of its own, Atletico could receive another huge transfer fee. If the club wants to bring in a temporary goalkeeper, it would seem to make more sense to bring in a veteran like Manuel Almunia as a backup in the event that Joel isn’t ready. Instead, the club has chosen to place him on the bench in favor of Courtois in a move that will surely hurt Joel’s possibilities to reach his full potential. Although Joel has only had two starts for the club, de Gea was just as inexperienced when he took over in 2009. A year and a half later, he was sold to one of the best clubs in the world for almost 20 million pounds. It would appear that Atletico Madrid has no long-term direction when it comes to its future at the position. Of course, it wouldn’t be the first time the club has appeared to have no direction.