Guillaume Restes was pulled out of Toulouse this month to make his senior France debut against Belgium, and inside a fortnight his name has resurfaced in Spain. Bernabéu Digital has placed the 21-year-old goalkeeper on a Real Madrid shortlist as part of long-term planning for the position currently held by Thibaut Courtois.
The outlet frames Restes as a relatively affordable option at around €19m, well below what a more established international would command. Real Madrid are not described as planning to replace Courtois any time soon, but as a club weighing options for the day the Belgian steps aside.
That day has just been pushed back. Real Madrid and Courtois have agreed in principle on a one-year extension that would keep the 34-year-old at the Santiago Bernabéu until 2028, Football España reported on 13 October, citing Fabrizio Romano and MARCA. The deal remains verbal, with the paperwork expected to follow. His existing contract had been due to expire in 2027.
Why the planning talk now
Courtois’s recent fitness history is the backdrop. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in August 2023, missing almost the entire 2023/24 season after surgery. In March 2024, as he closed in on a return, a meniscus tear in his right knee required a second operation. His 2024/25 season was further punctuated by muscle problems.
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Bernabéu Digital names Andriy Lunin as the internal candidate the club already treats as the primary successor, pointing to the Ukrainian’s work across the 2023/24 campaign while Courtois was unavailable. Fichajes separately lists Restes alongside Arsenal’s David Raya and Porto’s Diogo Costa as the three external names on Real Madrid’s agenda, describing Restes as a different type of bet from Costa and Raya because of his age and his room to develop.
The Restes case
Toulouse’s goalkeeper is coming off the strongest fortnight of his young career. He started for France against Belgium on 5 October 2026 at the Stade de France and became the youngest goalkeeper to start for Les Bleus since 1973, slotting in for Mike Maignan under new head coach Zinédine Zidane. France won 4-1.
A France 24 profile traced the arc that got him there: a professional debut at 18, more than 100 appearances for Toulouse, an Olympic silver medal in Paris in 2024, and a decision in the summer to stay in Ligue 1 after Danish head coach Jens Bertel Askou told him he wanted him at the club.
“He told me he wanted me to stay at the club,” Restes said of the conversation with Askou.
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According to Bernabéu Digital, he has featured in every Toulouse match this season.
The contract that reshapes the timing
If Courtois signs the extension as reported, Madrid’s goalkeeping question moves to the summer of 2028 rather than 2027. Any pursuit of Restes next summer would, on current reporting, bring him in as a project rather than a starter, with Courtois first-choice and Lunin positioned as the ready-made in-house alternative.
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