At the start of the summer, the big question was whether Real Madrid would be signing David de Gea or Thibaut Courtois.

Zinedine Zidane has never appeared entirely convinced by Keylor Navas, even as the Costa Rican started to come into his own towards the end of the season.

Real's current number one will be relieved to know that neither of the Premier League goalkeepers now look likely to move to the Bernabeu, as Los Blancos have cooled their interest considerably.

It's probably no coincidence that shortly after the European champions made it known they would not be pursuing those deals, it also transpired that AC Milan's Gianluigi Donnarumma had refused a new contract.

The question has to be asked whether Real knew all along that the 18-year-old wanted to leave the San Siro.

Regardless, it means that De Gea and Courtois can now crack on with pre-season without the burden of unrelenting transfer speculation surrounding their respective futures.

As for Courtois, Chelsea are already making moves to tie him down to a new deal.

The Belgian had a fine season, keeping 14 clean sheets and winning the Golden Glove award.

There are a couple of question marks over Antonio Conte's future, per the Daily Record, but otherwise, there's no real reason for the goalkeeper to be unhappy at Stamford Bridge having won two titles in three years.

Courtois and Chelsea are at odds 

Club officials are hoping to capitalise on that good feeling by sitting down with the 25-year-old to talk about an extension, but it seems wages are proving a big problem.

Not only does the former Atleti man feel he is worth more than the £100,000 a week he earns now, The Times suggest that he is well aware that his rival over at United, De Gea, earns considerably more.

In fact, the Red Devils stopper is on twice that, and that's why Courtois is demanding he is given the same kind of salary.

It's now expected that the issue may not be sorted this summer.
The danger is that if the Blues wait another year, by then he'll have just 12 months left on his contract and could leave for a considerably smaller fee.

Through no fault of his own, De Gea is unwittingly causing a rift in the champions' camp. If Chelsea aren't willing to budge, it could have big implications for Courtois' long-term future.

Is Courtois worth as much as De Gea? Have your say in the comments.