Chelsea are reportedly ready to make Thibaut Courtois the highest paid goalkeeper in the world, having offered him a bumper new deal.
According to a report by the London Evening Standard, Chelsea have put a bumper new contract on the table for Thibaut Courtois that could see him pocket more than £200,000 per week. The Blues have offered the new deal keeping one eye on a looming move from Real Madrid, who are eyeing the Belgian goalkeeper.
Courtois is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, having been a rock between the posts, first for Atletico Madrid and subsequently for Chelsea for the better part of the last half a decade. Over the last few seasons, the Blues’ collective form may have blown hot and cold, but the Belgian has remained highly consistent for the most part.
The same has been the case this season, with Courtois keeping eight clean sheets in 18 Premier League appearances – third in the race to win the Golden Glove behind David De Gea and Petr Cech. But, his Stamford Bridge future has been the subject of intense speculation for a while now.
Is Courtois deserving of some serious ? from Chelsea? ?? #CFC pic.twitter.com/AkQjoifasV
— Breathe Chelsea (@BreatheChels) December 22, 2017
Real Madrid have been perennially in search of a goalkeeper, with Keylor Navas’ form being inconsistent, especially over the last two seasons, and Kiko Casilla only deemed good enough to be a backup. While David De Gea has been their topmost priority for a long time, Courtois, too, features in their list of targets.
Of late, Kepa Arrizabalaga is believed to be their priority, with the Chelsea number one among the backup targets. To make matters worse, Courtois is also considering a return to the Spanish capital, where his wife and children are living, having also admitted to the same on record.
But, Chelsea are not ready to lose one of their most important players easily, and have made him an offer that would make him the highest paid goalkeeper in the world. The report suggests that the new deal will be worth more than £200,000-a-week that Courtois had been demanding.
Discussions are already underway and Chelsea aim to wrap up all the negotiations before the end of the season to tie the 25-year-old down to a new deal well ahead of the summer transfer window. Their concerns will be further put to bed if Real Madrid indeed secure the services of Kepa, or any other shot stopper for that matter.
It now remains to be seen if Chelsea are able to secure the long-term future of Courtois at Stamford Bridge, upon which he would undoubtedly continue to remain a long-term solution between the sticks for the Blues.
