Petr Cech Would Be an Unnecessary January Transfer Move for Real Madrid

Carlo Ancelotti might have thought he'd escaped this. But he hasn't. And he'll want to. 

For the goalkeeping debate at Real Madrid is not only becoming tiresome for the Italian, but should it be fuelled any further, it may become a significant distraction inside the hallways of the Bernabeu. Conjecture, doubt and instability, after all, don't fit neatly with winning. 

Part of Ancelotti's problem lies with Iker Casillas' regular journeys between excellent and awful. Part of it lies with an outstanding, €10 million goalkeeper already playing back-up. Part of it lies with the lavish, trigger-happy transfer history of his club. Part of it lies with we, the media. And part of it lies with circumstances outside of his control. 

For his part, the manager has deviated from his characteristic diplomacy behind the microphone in an attempt to squash the speculation. 

"Casillas has experience and character. He knows what's what and will have no problem sorting things out," Ancelotti said ahead of his team's Champions League opener against Basel last month, per Marca.

"As far as I'm concerned, the matter is closed. I want to be clear: there is no goalkeeper debate within the squad and I'm not going to add fuel to the [media] discussion. I'm not going to talk about the keepers this season," he added assertively. 

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He won't be pleased, then, with the situation unfolding at Chelsea, one of the Italian's previous stops on his path to Madrid.

After a decade of excellence at Stamford Bridge, Petr Cech has been uncomfortably pushed aside by the precocious Thibaut Courtois, sparking suggestions, per Matt Law of The Telegraph, that the veteran goalkeeper could re-unite with Ancelotti by switching from the English capital to that of Spain in January.

Cech has done little to quell the talk himself, openly declaring his discontent with his sudden, secondary status in west London. 

"I have not spoken to anyone, but I think they know me well enough at the club to know that the situation is definitely not the way I would imagine," he said, per Law's report.

"With the Euros [in 2016] and the national team in mind, there is no time for me to sit on the bench and not to play. If the situation will not start to improve for me, then I will want to solve it."

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For Real Madrid and Ancelotti, the issue doesn't centre on Cech's ability as a goalkeeper—he's one of the finest glovemen on the continent and possesses the wealth of experience needed to deal with the high expectations inside the Bernabeu. 

No. Instead, the issue is the timing. 

January transfers, typically, are orchestrated to address immediate needs. There are exceptions, of course, but that's the norm. And for Los Blancos, the immediate need isn't there. 

Casillas, whose blunder for Spain against Slovakia last week has reignited the scrutiny surrounding the club icon, had been enjoying a quiet resurgence in the Madrid net prior to the international break. His public backing from Ancelotti was rewarded with a fine display against Basel, propelling Casillas to a strong run of performances against Villarreal, Ludogorets and Athletic Bilbao. 

There is merit to the argument that the 33-year-old should step away from the national side, but at the domestic level, Real's No. 1 still holds a significance, stemming from his deep roots to Madrid that has fostered a unique connection between player and club. Casillas, through good form and bad, is part of the fabric of Real Madrid and won't be banished mid-season. 

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Ancelotti also finds himself needing to satisfy new signing Keylor Navas, who arrived from Levante in the summer on the back of a superb 2013-14 season in La Liga and a stunning World Cup campaign in Brazil.

To date, the Costa Rican has made just one competitive appearance for his new club that came during the 5-1 thrashing of Elche, rendering Real Madrid's decision to splash €10 million on the 27-year-old rather unnecessary.  

Add Cech to that mix, who, with still the better part of two years remaining on his current contract, won't come cheap (his value is estimated at just under £15 million by Transfermarkt.co.uk), and the goalkeeping debate that Ancelotti is so eager to avoid will burn brighter than ever until season's end, as if Real Madrid had poured gasoline all over their own hot coals. 

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Ancelotti, of course, is likely to be ruing the timing of the current international break. Not only had his team just begun to emerge from a turbulent opening to the season, but the exhilaration of his side's displays (27 goals in six games) had taken the focus away from transfer matters and onto optimistic forecasts for the club's success from here on in.

The October interlude, as is its habit, has reversed that attention. "Oh Iker," Ancelotti must be thinking.

But stability, not transfers, is the priority for Real Madrid at this point. The major obstacles for this suddenly rampant squad are issues relating to discontinuity, frustration and acrimony. 

Signing Cech would just unnecessarily stir some of those complications, particularly when done so at—to Ancelotti's frustration—Real Madrid's most talked-about position.