Chelsea and Thibaut Courtois are on a collision course with one another
By Travis Tyler
Alisson is expected to be signed by Real Madrid in the coming weeks. This leaves Thibaut Courtois holding the bag and Chelsea wondering what to do.
Real Madrid have been in the hunt for a keeper and it cost them Zinedine Zidane and it cost Spain a manager on the eve of a World Cup. The next knockdown effect it is set to have is on Chelsea, who suddenly have a want away keeper and no ideal replacement for him.
Courtois has only a year remaining on his contract. That means Chelsea must sell this summer if they want to make a profit on him. Alternatively, he could go for free or extend his contract. Extension was the original plan this past year, but as anything failed to materialize, sell became the new plan. But in Courtois’ place, Chelsea would need an excellent keeper.
Alisson was the perfect choice. He came from a club which Chelsea have a great relationship. And Real Madrid would be willing to take Courtois back to Madrid to be with his family. On paper, the move made sense. But Real Madrid have apparently decided to cut out the middle man and go straight for Alisson themselves.
So now Chelsea are stuck with a player they need to sell if they are going to make any profit off of him. And Courtois is stuck without an ideal club to go to. What happens next will be incredibly interesting.
Courtois could decide that he will sign the extension. London is no Madrid, but he would be staying put. That would happen under the assumption that in a year, no club would want him. This would satisfy Chelsea the most as they will have sorted out a major headache.
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Or, Courtois could decide to weight out for another club. Some clubs may not want to purchase him, but many would be willing to take him for free. Courtois would have the pick of the litter and Chelsea would be left empty handed from one of their key pieces.
Chelsea could, of course, find another keeper to target and still try to push Courtois out. But after Alisson, there are so few ideal replacements. The next step would possibly be someone incredibly young and thus risky. They could be Courtois’ deputy for a year, but it would still be a less than ideal situation for the Blues.
Regardless, this is not how Chelsea would have wanted things to pan out. In fact, this is probably the worst case scenario. Stuck with a player who could go for free, no good replacements, and no sign of a contract extension. Things can change rapidly over the World Cup, but for now things seem quite bleak.
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Chelsea must figure out the best solution to Courtois. If Paris Saint Germain or a similarly rich club will buy, they probably should sell. Of course, where the Blues turn next will be a question, but it seems more sure that Courtois will go for free if he is allowed to remain. That is simply unacceptable for the Blues and they must find the right solution soon.