Chelsea: Do not long for Thibaut Courtois, it is already over
By Travis Tyler
Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois is having himself an excellent World Cup. His defenders have reemerged. But do not long for him, he is already gone.
Two players won the Belgium versus Brazil World Cup quarterfinal. The first was Eden Hazard. He was simply unplayable, carrying the team on attack as well as dropping back to defend.
The second was Thibaut Courtois who faced shot after shot by Brazil yet he would not let more than a goal past him. It was pure shot stopping from the Belgian and was perhaps one of his greatest performances ever.
Courtois’ match has given rise to his defenders once more. They disappeared at the back end of last season but are back with a vengeance. And though Courtois is a good keeper, all Chelsea fans must keep one thing in mind; he does not want to be at Chelsea any longer.
This is a similar wall that the Diego Costa pining hits. If a player does not want to be at Chelsea, it does not matter how good they are. They have to go and wishing/regretting their departure will do no good.
Courtois had his chances to extend his contract. But again and again, he pushed the date on it back. That is ok. His children are in Madrid, which coincidentally is where the two clubs most interested in him are. It is perfectly understandable why he would want to move closer to his family.
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Just as it is perfectly understandable why Chelsea does not only want to sell him, but must. Courtois is entering the last year of his contract. That means once he is down to less than six months (in January), he can negotiate with other clubs for a precontract. Courtois would then depart the Blues for free.
That would be simply unacceptable and is why Chelsea is looking to sell now. This is the last chance to make a profit on Courtois. If he will not sign a new contract, selling is the only option that Chelsea has. Fans and Courtois himself may not understand this entirely, but it is for the best of the club.
In his place, Chelsea has been looking at Alisson of AS Roma. And coincidentally, he was on the other side of the pitch for Courtois’ excellent quarterfinal performance. He did not struggle, per se, but letting two goals in is always a black mark. That may have fed into some of the admiration Courtois received post match from those who want him to stay.
But Courtois is a player who is soon to be in Chelsea’s past. Alisson, most likely, is the future. That is the reality Chelsea and fans currently find themselves in.
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So do not long for Courtois. He has done great work with the club and will depart having yielded a large return on investment. Alisson (or someone) will arrive at the club and start a new era between the sticks for Chelsea. It is merely the way things have to be for the club to be in its best place.