What’s the story?
English media house, The Telegraph had earlier reported that Real Madrid are lining up an ‘irresistible offer’ for Spanish goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to lure him to the club. However, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, speaking to reporters on Friday, squashed these rumours stating that Courtois is not for sale and will not be going anywhere.
The manager made it clear that there would be no return to Madrid and that Courtois is an integral part of the Chelsea unit. "He stays with us and this is the most important thing. The other situations are only speculation," Conte said.
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Courtois was a top performing goalkeeper for Atletico Madrid where he was on loan from Chelsea. The player put in superb performances to get the call back to Chelsea where he displaced goalkeeping legend, Petr Cech.
However, the Belgian’s last season at Stamford Bridge under Jose Mourinho was a troublesome one and the 24-year-old openly stated that he would like to return to Madrid. After the David de Gea fiasco, it seems that Real Madrid have decided to now go ahead with Courtois instead, who they believe would prefer to ply his trade in Spain.
The heart of the matter
Chelsea are on a roll this season and this has been possible largely because of the solid defensive unit set up by the Italian, Conte. The team currently leads the Premier League table and are 6 points clear at the top. The Blues have been on a 12 game winning streak where they have scored 28 times but conceded only twice.
Antonio Conte was quick to praise the goalkeeper as well and added that he personally believed that Thibaut was quite easily one of the best goalkeepers in the game at the moment. The manager called Courtois a ‘complete’ and a ‘modern’ goalkeeper.
What next?
Conte has publicly squashed these rumours and the transfer looks unlikely right now. The manager would definitely not want to meddle with the defensive balance of his team, considering the fact that the Chelsea backline has been a resolute unit which has played some great football so far.
Sportskeeda’s take
It makes sense on Antonio Conte’s part to speak to the press about the developments in Courtois’ case. This will only ward off potential suitors who might have planned on snatching the goalkeeper. Conte’s praise for the keeper will also be a huge morale booster for the Spaniard, who will be glad to have a manager who has full faith in his abilities.
