Chelsea: Bite the bullet and use Thibaut Courtois for one last season

Chelsea are all out of good options at goalkeeper. The least bad option now is to keep Thibaut Courtois for the season and let him put them in a better position to replace him, even if he leaves for free.

The Thibaut Courtois saga continues, with no real solution in sight. Plenty of rumors are swirling around the situation: Petr Cech returning to Stamford Bridge, Kaspar Schmeichel leaving Leicester, or Jack Butland taking a step up to a big club. But none of them seem likely at this point, or even smart.

Petr Cech is too old and his skills are diminishing. His uncharacteristically high number of unforced errors at Arsenal speak to the effects of time. Kaspar Schmeichel is the closest to being an acceptable replacement, but Leicester are holding a king’s ransom for him. Safe to say, they are still a bit resentful for Chelsea committing highway robbery when they signed N’Golo Kante from them.

And Jack Butland does not have the quality to get Chelsea where they need to go. His abilities and potential are not enough to put Chelsea back in the top four spots and winning trophies this season.

Chelsea may already be past the point where they can find a goalkeeper up to the job. If not, they are rapidly approaching it. In hindsight, Barrett’s repeated, years-long calls for Chelsea to sell Thibaut Courtois were absolutely right. The club once had some leverage in the deal, and Courtois had some value they could extract from the market. Now they have no leverage, and since everyone knows he is going to walk for free at the end of the season, his value is closing on nil.

The offers bandied about now are so low it seems crazy to sell him at such a discounted rate. But that is the situation the board has put themselves in.

So why not keep him. Yes, I said it, keep him. The club have already shot themselves in one foot, no point in shooting themselves in the other and selling him for a ridiculous offer just so he doesn’t walk for free.

The difference between a Champions League spot and Europa League is roughly £50 million. Keeping Courtois is simply a bet that having a world-class keeper will lock down a Champions League spot. £50 million is also more than some of the figures Real Madrid may have offered to Chelsea for the Belgian keeper.

Chelsea need to bite the bullet instead of lodging it in their other foot. They must not rush or make an impulse buy out of desperation just before the deadline, as Chelsea loves to do (David Luiz, Michael Hector, Davide Zappacosta). Keep the big man and get into a position to be in the Champions League next year, which in turn would make it easier to sign a world-class keeper at the end of 2018/19.  Not having the Champions League could have been a huge factor why Chelsea missed out on Alisson Becker, and how Liverpool swiped him up. Courtois can ensure Chelsea avoid this particular repeat.

The next week or so will be huge for Chelsea in the moves they make or – in this case – don’t make. Whatever they do could have an effect on not only this season but next season as well.

It may be hard to admit you were wrong, but even harder to know when you’re beat and it’s best to lay down. Thibaut Courtois is going to get his way. Chelsea should allow him to walk for free than risk selling just to sell.