Chelsea are reportedly set to retain Real Madrid target Thibaut Courtois for next season after they failed to find a suitable replacement of the Belgian international.
According to a report published by Daily Mirror, Chelsea have told Thibaut Courtois that he would not be handed a move away to Real Madrid after the Blues failed to find a suitable replacement for the Belgian international. The West Londoners are prepared for the goalkeeper to run down the final year of his contract.
Courtois has been a pivotal figure between the sticks for Chelsea ever since he returned from a three-year loan stint at Atletico Madrid. Since then, the Belgian goalkeeper has only gone on to enhance his reputation, to be widely regarded as one of the best in the world.
He boasts a similar status in international football with Belgium. Courtois’s exploits in the 2018 FIFA World Cup saw him win the Golden Glove. Therefore, it’s hardly surprising that clubs like Real Madrid have continually had the 26-year-old on their radar.
Chelsea were reportedly at risk of losing many of their prominent players after an underwhelming fifth-placed finish in the Premier League last season. Courtois was believed to be on the list of players seeking a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer, and Real Madrid seemed to be at the forefront to sign the Belgian international.
Thus, Chelsea prepared themselves to break ties with the 26-year-old goalkeeper as they started looking for a possible replacement for the Real Madrid bound shot stopper. Till now though, the Blues have failed to land their desired targets, including Jordan Pickford and Jan Oblak.
Chelsea intend to bolster up their roster ahead of the upcoming season instead of repeating their exhibits from last season by deteriorating the team through losing quality players from the squad, meaning the option of keeping Courtois away from the clutches of Real Madrid always remained.
Newly appointed manager Maurizio Sarri has also indicated his desire to keep his best players at the club to fulfill his plans ahead of the new season. While Real Madrid are eager to sign Courtois, the Blues were only willing to cash in on the player if they had nailed down a replacement in time.
With very little time to land a suitable replacement, the Belgian international will be compelled to serve the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea prepared to let Courtois leave for free if they fail to convince him to sign a new deal. It seems that Los Blancos will arrive again for him next summer and would obtain a valuable upgrade for free next year.
But, the £35 million bid by Real Madrid has been termed as ‘peanuts’ by Chelsea, who prefer letting him leave for nothing instead of having a rather unreliable goalkeeper serve between the sticks for the 2018-19 season. For now, it looks like the West Londoners might just have succeeded in their bid to keep hold of Courtois.
