Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas has said new coach Julen Lopetegui has told him he is counting on him.
Navas faces for a battle for his place with Thibaut Courtois, signed from Chelsea earlier in the summer, with Lopetegui having indicated that he could rotate the two keepers.
“I have spoken with Julen and he didn’t say what he will do,” Navas said. “But he said he has confidence in me, counts on me, and for me these words are important.”
Navas, who is not in Costa Rica’s squad for the upcoming friendlies against South Korea and Japan, has started Madrid’s first three games of the season but said he knew he would have to fight to retain his place.
“I want to play in every game but decisions are made by the manager — I can’t get involved,” he added.
“We respect the decisions that he makes because he is our manager until the death, and what I can do is to show on the field that I can always play.
“I feel like nothing has changed. Of all the years playing football, I have never felt like an undisputed starter — that would be an error.
“You have to win your place every day and train at 100 percent always.”
Speaking at a news conference ahead of the game against Leganes, Lopetegui said he would not reveal his starting lineup until Saturday.
“My confidence in goalkeepers is maximum. In each game you can only play one, but that does not mean that I do not have confidence in the rest,” he said.
“I have always said that we have great solutions, and we will see. We will manage the situation as we feel we have to do it and always thinking about the best for the team.
“I will not tell you who is the starter or who is not because I insist that I have three great solutions. We will see it at every moment and at every moment we will take the opportune decisions.”
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