At one point last season, Andrey Lunin was the most dispensable asset at Carlo Ancelotti’s disposal, more so that when Thibaut Courtois suffered a season ending injury, the club opted to sign a replacement for the Belgian (Kepa Arrizabalaga).

During the early days of last season, Kepa acted as a replacement for Courtois, not until an injury in warm-up prior to UCL clash against braga when the Spaniard suffered a knock and Lunin had to fill in, standing tall against all odds and making a name for himself, later becoming a starter ahead of Kepa.

Lunin will stay at the club

In a major update, journalist Guillermo Rai, a correspondent for Reliable newspaper the athletic has claimed Andrey Lunin will stay put at Real Madrid, atleast for this summer.

This comes after a lot of rumors have recently linked Lunin with a move away for the club, with the fact that Courtois started ahead of the Ukrainian in the UCL final being the back bone of this rumors.

Indeed, it is fair to say Lunin carried Real Madrid through the storm with spectacular performances in all competitions when Courtois was out injured, and the fact that the Belgian was given the start on Europes biggest stage ahead of him was a big blow and an exit looked very likely at that point.

Why the change of heart

When Lunin demanded to leave Real Madrid, his expectations were high as to his next destination while Real Madrid on the other end would not settle for a bargain price for their highly rated asset.

Fast-forward to today, all the big clubs in Europe already have their first choice Goalkeepers while no club was able to match Real Madrid’s demands which prompted Lunin to have a change of mind.

Club’s trust in Lunin

Real madrid’s message to Lunin has always been clear: “we want you here with us”. This is owed to the fact that first choice, Courtois is already getting to the latter stages of his career and the club sees no one as worthy as Lunin to succeed the giant shot-stopper.

With lunin now poised to stay, another player directly affected by this decision is Kepa Arrizabalaga who had previously rejected all approaches while hoping for a Bernabéu return incase Lunin departed.

However, it is important to highlight that Lunin’s long term future still remains uncertain, with his current deal expiring in 2025.