Chelsea FC – Should Thibault Courtois Be Sold?

By Vignesh Iyer
12 years Ago

Whilst Chelseaai??i??s fortunes have soared since Roman Abramovichai??i??s significant investment into the club, the team itself has been found lacking in certain areas from time to time. The defensive crisis of the 2005-06 season under Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelottiai??i??s second season in charge (when they let go of five senior players over the summer to make way for youngsters) and also the current season can be cited as prominent examples where a lack of planning and/or injuries have left the squad looking severely depleted on occasion.

All of the above considered, when the Chelsea faithful look back over the past decade, one image that is certain to come to mind is the calming presence of a man wearing a helmet between the posts. Petr Cech signed for Chelsea in July 2004 and since then has gone on to make 398 appearances for the club. His Chelsea career is littered with many a match winning performance and record breaking statistics. The Blues have been lucky in the sense that they had a fantastic goal keeper in Carlo Cudicini even before Petr Cech signed from French club Rennes. Cudicini had been voted player of the year at Chelsea in 2001- 2002 and then was recognized as the best keeper in the premiership for the 2002 ai??i?? 2003 season.

Veteran substitute keeper Henrique Hilario has inexplicably acquired a comical reputation despite being an able enough ai???third choiceai??i?? for most part of his stay at Chelsea. After Carlo Cudicini departed for Tottenham Hotspur, he has been decent while deputizing for Petr Cechai??i??s during his rare absences. So far, the Portuguese has made 38 starts and 4 substitute appearances in the blue of Chelsea during his seven year stay at the club.

Why Chelsea decided to invest in Ross Turnbull remains a mystery, but the story goes that goalkeeping coach Christophe Lollichon videoed Ross Turnbullai??i??s technique during a warm up session when he visited Stamford Bridge with Middlesbrough. Impressed by the interest and willingness shown in signing him, Turnbull couldnai??i??t resist Chelseaai??i??s advances and swapped a potential starting berth at the Riverside for life on the bench at Chelsea.

The Chelsea hierarchy realize that a prolonged bout of illness or injury to Petr Cech would have an adverse effect upon the entire season. Henrique Hilario and Ross Turnbull can at best fill in for a few games, but cannot be relied upon to man the goal posts throughout an entire campaign. And therefore as the stalwart enters his 30ai??i??s, the search for a younger, more reliable ai???deputyai??i?? has been on for a while now.

The issue would rarely be discussed because of Petr Cechai??i??s unwavering reliability and inhuman consistency, but the emergence of a possible contender among the Chelsea ranks begs for the question to be asked. Thibault Courtois has never in his life worn the Chelsea jersey. The day it was announced that he signed for the Londoners, it was also announced that he would immediately get loaned out toAi??AtlAi??tico Madrid for a one year period.

While atAi??AtlAi??tico, Thibault Courtois managed to usurp Sergio Asenjo for a starting birth and has since been one of their top performers after previous No.1 David De Gea moved to Manchester United. Currently in his second season with the Spanish side, Courtois set a record of 820 minutes without conceding a goal at the Estadio Vicente Calderon. Aged just 20, the young Belgian has already made 86 appearances for the Spanish club. On 15 November 2011, Courtois made his debut starting in a friendly for Belgium against France, making him the youngest keeper to ever play for the Belgian national team. That Chelsea acquired him for the princely sum of A?5 million suggests that this might be one of the best bits of businesses the club has ever done in recent history.

The trouble with Courtoisai??i?? brilliance is the fact that it doesnai??i??t entirely suit Chelsea perfectly; the keeper himself has admitted that Chelsea did not expect him to develop so rapidly as he has done. He is too good to be waiting on the bench for a chance. Heai??i??s rated as one of the best keepers in the world already and with Ross Turnbull and Henrique Hilario nearing the end of their contracts this year, it is likely that Chelsea will be in the market for a No.2 goalkeeper come summer. An approach was made for keeper Jack Butland in January (he chose to sign for Stoke instead) and Stoke City No.1 Asmir Begovic has been repeatedly linked with the Blues (among other big teams).

So where does that leave them with regards to Courtois? A third year on loan atAi??AtlAi??tico is apparently being discussed but with his current five year contract running down, the Stamford Bridge club need to look at making a decision instead of prolonging it. The option to keep him on loan atAi??AtlAi??tico is a mutually beneficial arrangement for all three parties, but there will be a day when his contract will need renewal. Chelsea can afford to loan him out for two more years and think of renewing his contract when he is in the final year of his current one, but will he be interested in renewing then if Petr Cech is still going strong? Or would the idea of signing for a more permanent option sound more appealing to him at the time?

There is another angle to this intriguing situation unfolding at Chelsea and that is of their widely publicized interest inAi??AtlAi??tico Madrid striker, Radamel Falcao. He is likely to cost A?50m at the very least and by offering the Spanish team the option to make Courtoisai??i?? signing permanent, Chelsea can lessen the financial burden significantly. A lower overall price tag should also lessen the pressure upon the striker(seeing as the A?50m tag has already destroyed one beyond recognition), and a lower transfer fee outlay also helps them comply with the FFP regulations better.

Courtois believes that he will not be used as a pawn in Chelseaai??i??s bid to acquire the services of Falcao and the plan is for him to succeed Petr Cech in two years. This particular plan will inevitably raise questions about why Chelsea would want to let go of their greatest goalkeeper ever and also, should Chelsea sign a better deputy than Turnbull or Hilario for Cech or this summer, would he be happy to play second fiddle to a possibly younger, new name in the dressing room? Should Courtois struggle to settle in, heai??i??d end up becoming the white elephant in the team like Torres is now. Not because of the transfer fee, but simply because the club sold/benched Cech to make way for him.

Petr Cech has been at Chelsea for nearly a decade and has made himself a household name at the club. His family is settled in London, he keeps a low profile and whenever needed, carries off his ambassadorial duties for the club impeccably. His age shouldnai??i??t be a problem yet because it is a well known fact that Goalkeepers can carry on late into their thirties and some, even beyond 40. Gianluigi Buffon(35), Edwin Van Der Sar(42 now but played until he was 40 for Manchester United), Mark Schwarzer(40), Brad Friedel(41) etc. have all continued to play at the highest level despite their age.

Wouldnai??i??t the better option, therefore be to use Courtois as a sweetener to obtain Falcao, sign a goalkeeper with the potential to challenge Petr Cech in future and see what becomes of the situation?

Categories: Chelsea FC, English Premier League, Features
Tags: cech Chelsea FC Courtois

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