Should Atlético sign a starting goalkeeper?

David de Gea’s departure for Manchester United left Atlético with a decision that looked simple and was not. Speaking to Canal + Liga after De Gea’s farewell press conference, head coach Gregorio Manzano said the club’s priority was to “sign a forward and a goalkeeper”. The forward was uncontroversial: a replacement for Sergio Agüero would be needed once the Argentine settled his future. The goalkeeper was the argument.

Behind De Gea, Atlético had two young keepers already on the books. Joel Robles, a 21-year-old academy product, had made only two official first-team appearances across the previous two seasons, but a significant part of the support believed he was ready to step into his cantera team-mate’s place. Joel had made his own position clear, indicating he would leave the club if a established number one arrived and he spent a second consecutive season on the bench. He had no shortage of interest elsewhere in La Liga, and as the cheapest available option he was widely expected to start the 2011-12 campaign.

Sergio Asenjo’s position was much the same. “I suppose Joel and I are the two goalkeepers on the first team,” the 22-year-old told Yahoo! Eurosport Spain. “If another one arrives he will be a tough competitor.” He went further: “In the event a third keeper is signed to play as the starter and considering what happened last year, I prefer playing and perhaps I would leave again in order to avoid impeding the development of either one of us.” The reference was to his loan spell at Málaga in the second half of the previous season, where he had re-injured his right knee. “I’m working very hard to return as soon as possible and show the club it was worth signing me,” he said.

Against that background, AS reported that sporting director José Luis Caminero had travelled to Brussels to open talks with Belgian side Racing Genk over a 19-year-old goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian had been named goalkeeper of the year in his country’s top flight for 2010-11 and had started 44 matches that season, younger than either Joel or Asenjo, yet with far more senior football behind him.

The counter-argument was cost and consequence. A reported fee of €4-5 million for another young, largely unproven talent risked pushing out a home-grown keeper who would cost nothing. A more conservative route existed too: AS also linked the club with Arsenal’s 34-year-old Manuel Almunia, a year from the end of his contract and reportedly keen to finish his career in Spain, the kind of signing that works as insurance rather than as a statement.

The debate reads differently with hindsight. Joel left for Wigan in 2013 and later built a long career at Everton and Real Betis; Asenjo, after further knee injuries, became a Zamora Trophy winner at Villarreal; and the young Belgian the club was weighing up in the summer of 2011 became one of the finest goalkeepers of his generation. The goalkeeping succession at Atlético since, from Courtois to Miguel Ángel Moyá to Jan Oblak, is covered in the legends gallery, and the seasons it spans in the club history. For the record of what the club won in that period, see the honours list; for more coverage from these months, the archive.