It has long been known that Chelsea will eventually face a dilemma and must make a difficult choice between Thibaut Courtois and Petr Cech eventually, could it be this coming summer?
Courtois is currently in his third consecutive season on loan from the Blues to La Liga side Atletico Madrid and has gone from strength to strength since he was signed back in 2011.
The 21-year-old is now a regular for the Belgium national team, already has 14 caps and has been tipped as one of the best young goalkeepers in the world, but has never featured for his club and there will be plenty of rivals for his signature should there ever be a breakdown in relationship between Chelsea and the player.
One of the clubs that would be very keen on Courtois is Barcelona, who will be seeking a replacement for Víctor Valdés when his contract expires at the end of the season, and the young stopper will know of the interest in him and may look to use it to his advantage.
Courtois wants a guarantee of first-team football:
“I want to play, I will not be sitting on the bench.
“At Atletico I feel great and being here allows me to play in the Champions League.
“I’ve grown a lot at Atletico, especially last season when we won the European Super Cup and the Copa del Rey.
“I’ve made great progress, especially in terms of speed, reflexes and experience.
“I am in my best form and I feel like I am among the five best goalkeepers in the world.”
A lot of the press have jumped on the quote in which he says that he believes he is in the top five keepers in the world and have made him sound a little arrogant, he’s definitely confident about his ability, but he has a point and he has achieved a lot in such a short space of time that he cannot be ignored for much longer. The loan spell at Atletico has worked wonders for him and has helped provide him with a stable basis whilst he’s not in a Chelsea shirt, but is it time to bring him back next season?
The problem is that Cech, now 31-years-old, has been performing admirably in between the sticks for Chelsea this season and has been a consistent performer during his nine years at Stamford Bridge, so Courtois will have to be sensitive to this fact if he’s serious about making his name in West London.
Ideally I’d like to see the two fight it out for the number one spot next season as I believe Courtois is good enough to challenge Cech and represents the best long-term option. But it’s looking increasingly like Chelsea will have to choose one or the other and stick with the decision, which unfortunately plays into the hands of clubs like Barcelona as I’m pretty sure they’d be happy to take either player that isn’t happy to be number two.
What do you think the future holds for Thibaut Courtois? – Have your say in the comments section below
