Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois wants his cake and will eat it too

Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois has often seen his words twisted by the media. But his most recent comments need no twisting as he looks to secure himself.

Thibaut Courtois has often been misinterpreted. Phrases like “my heart is in Madrid” are easily twisted by the media with rumors of Real Madrid circling. But more recently, Courtois has been digging himself into the hole.

It started after the Barcelona match with a post match interview. He said “I have to come out, be a man and show you made a mistake and move on.” That is where he should have stopped talking. But he did not. He followed up by saying he made good saves as well.

He was not wrong, He did make good saves. But he also let Lionel Messi put two goals through his legs. No matter what saves he made, those types of goals should be the ultimate embarrassment for a keeper. By all means, own up to them. But do not continue as if good saves make the goals any less terrible.

More recently, he has stated his commitment to Chelsea in the most indirect way possible. He has still not signed the contract that has been rumored to be on the table for months. Every time a deadline for it arrives, someone pipes up with new statements about a new deadline. They kick the can down the road until it has nowhere else to go. Now the deadline is the summer.

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And with one year on his contract, Courtois holds the power. He can stay, not sign a contract and then move wherever he wants. He can stay, use the free agency as a bargaining chip and get a bigger contract. Or Chelsea can be forced to sell to make any fee off of him. But with only a year left, that fee will be lower.

Basically, Courtois is hedging his bets. He probably is not a coincidence that reports from earlier in the week said Real Madrid have moved on to other targets. Now that Real Madrid have passed, Courtois is looking to settle his future wherever that may be.

But after a series of terrible performances by the Belgian, this screams as self preservation. This past week, all of his comments have pointed towards him looking out for himself. And he is allowed to do that with his career. But it smacks of opportunism at the moment when he is offering little on the pitch.

Statistically, Courtois is on par with most of the Premier League rivals’ keepers. Except David De Gea who is on another level. Chelsea have only been linked to Alisson Becker as a replacement. His stats blow Courtois’ out of the water.

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The Beligan is looking to preserve his future but his recent performances are pointing more and more towards that not being best for Chelsea. If Becker is available and Courtois has any remaining suitors, the Blues’ best move may be making the deals happen.