Serie A giants add Chelsea star to short list to replace club legend
Britain Football Soccer - Chelsea v Stoke City - Premier League - Stamford Bridge - 31/12/16 Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois celebrates their third goal Action Images via Reuters / Tony O'Brien Livepic EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is one of three names on Juventus’s shortlist to replace the retiring Gianluigi Buffon, according to Tuttosport (via Tuttomercatoweb).
The Italian newspaper say that Buffon is likely to call time on his career at the end of the season, and Juve are putting contingency plans in place so they are not caught short if the 39 year old does indeed leave the Serie A club.
It was expected that summer signing Wojciech Szczesny would be Buffon’s immediate successor, but there are doubts whether the Polish international has the quality to fill the boots of someone like the Juve and Italy legend.
Courtois’s contract expires in 2019, and with the Belgian international having so far not agreed a new deal, the keeper is reportedly being considered by the Italian side, along with Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak and Paris Saint-Germain’s Alphonse Areola.
Reports last week suggested that Courtois may be stalling on a new deal as he waits for a sign from Real Madrid that they are interested, but Goal.com say the the 25 year old will sign on the dotted line with Chelsea, along with Eden Hazard, in the not too distant future.