The club's plan, revealed hours ago, would keep faith with their starting goalkeeper as he approaches a decade at the Santiago Bernabeu, despite the Belgian turning 34 and some lingering concerns over his physical condition. It is not his performances that worry the club — those remain outstanding — but his age and a troublesome back that has flared up periodically.
That concern is part of why Real Madrid had been monitoring highly rated young Belgian goalkeeper Lucca Brughmans before he instead joined Liverpool.
"Real Madrid were somewhat involved in the negotiation, but Liverpool were quicker," said journalist Miguel Diaz on Cadena Cope.
"The English club paid around €30m, took him, and for now he remains on loan at Genk while he waits to make the jump to the Premier League next season."
With that route closed off, Real Madrid are working to a longer timeline, continuing to view Andriy Lunin as their trusted deputy for any absences involving Courtois, who is expected to remain first choice this season and next under the terms being discussed. Sources close to Bernabeu Digital indicate the eventual successor may already be inside the club rather than out in the transfer market.
That prospect is 19-year-old Javi Navarro, a highly rated goalkeeper from La Fabrica who is already making a difference in Real Madrid's youth categories. He is currently best placed to succeed the Belgian long-term, though as ever in football, circumstances can shift quickly.
Losing out on Brughmans was a blow to Real Madrid's planning, given the 18-year-old's obvious parallels with Courtois himself — both Belgian, both products of Genk's academy, and both marked out early as generational goalkeeping talents.
Liverpool's move for the teenager was seen as pre-emptive business given their own long-term uncertainty over Alisson, who turns 34 next month, and Brughmans will spend this season on loan back at Genk gaining further first-team experience before making the step up to the Premier League.
Courtois joined Real Madrid from Chelsea in 2018 and has since won two Champions League titles and three LaLiga crowns, cementing his status as one of the club's most important players of the modern era even as the search for his eventual heir continues in the background. For now, the priority remains straightforward: extend the incumbent, and let the succession plan play out over time.