Dubai: The ongoing saga of who will be in goal for Real Madrid next season – or sooner – has taken a new twist with the news that Athletic Club Bilbao on Wednesday confirmed that goalkeeper Iago Herrerin has agreed to extend his contract with the club until the end of June 2021 with a buyout clause of 50 million euros.
The 29-year-old has usually been a reserve, but he has been first choice in the last three La Liga games, keeping three clean sheets.
The new contract is significant as it appears the man he has replaced in the first team, Kepa Arrizabalaga, is close to joining Real Madrid after failing to agree terms for a new contract and Iago’s new deal could be seen as the club assuring they have an experienced goalkeeper.
All of this despite Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, insisting both on Saturday and again on Tuesday that he didn’t want any new signings during January.
This does not make for good news for Manchester United No. 1 David De Gea, who has been trying to engineer a move to the Bernabeu since 2015, when his transfer deal dramatically collapsed on the last day of the transfer window.
