Real Madrid: Keylor Navas ready to 'battle' David de Gea if he joins from Manchester United

Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas has claimed he is not afraid about the likely arrival of "excellent" Manchester United number one David De Gea to the Santiago Bernabeu while claiming he hopes Sergio Ramos stays at the club.

The Costa Rica international moved to the La Liga giants in the summer of 2014 to fill the gap left by Diego Lopez's departure to AC Milan after Real Madrid met his £8m ($13m) release clause with Levante following his impressive performances at the World Cup in Brazil.

But the 28-year-old ended up being the back-up for Iker Casillas, starting just six La Liga games during the whole campaign.

Navas recently expressed his frustration about the situation and left his future at the Santiago Bernabeu up in the air amid the expected arrival of De Gea.

But after Spanish TV station RTVE reported Casillas is on the verge of a move to Porto, Navas looks ready to stay at Real Madrid to fight De Gea for the number one role.

"De Gea is a great keeper, an excellent keeper. He's done really well at Manchester United and he is a goalkeeper who deserves respect as we all do," Navas said to AS.

Asked about how De Gea's arrival affects his future at the club, he replied: "I'm relaxed about it.

"I'm always going to have to compete with whoever I have at my side. Of course I'll defend my ground and I will fight with everything I've got to win a first-choice place in the side, that is what I have wanted for a long time. I'll keep battling to realise my dreams."

Navas is currently injured but insists he will work hard to be fit as soon as possible and prove to manager Rafael Benitez that he deserves the number one role no matter who – Casillas or De Gea – is the other 'keeper in the squad.

"I'm just going to concentrate on my own job. In a very short while, I will be back at 100%. I am as determined as ever, and I am work towards that as I always do; we'll see what happens this season."

Meanwhile, Navas has claimed that even though he is yet to speak with defender Ramos, he hopes the Spaniard snubs a potential move to Manchester United and stays at the Santiago Bernabeu.

He said: "I haven't had the chance to speak to him. But for us, Sergio is a very important player and I hope he stays. We'll see what happens."

But asked whether the Spaniard wants to leave Real Madrid, he said: "I don't know. You'll have to ask him. I can only speak as a teammate and what concerns us professionally; some issues are personal and it's not right for me to comment on."

Spanish newspaper AS has claimed United manager Louis van Gaal has told Real Madrid the only way De Gea will leave the club is if Los Blancos allow Ramos to make the opposite trip to Old Trafford.