Is Thibaut Courtois on his way out?

Thibaut Courtois' exit from Chelsea seems inevitable.

The Chelsea shot-stopper cannot stop flirting with other teams and is being courted by several high-profile clubs. Recently, there have been claims that his father was seen talking to French giants Paris Saint Germain. Why does he want to move away from the club that has done so much for him?

Atletico Madrid, who had sold David De Gea to Manchester United, needed a goalkeeper. When they made a loan offer, Chelsea gladly accepted since they already had one of the best in their ranks (Petr Cech) and the youngster needed some game time in order to develop. It was undoubtedly the best outcome possible where both sides flourished.

Over the course of the three-year loan spell, Courtois developed into one of the best keepers in the world. And at the end of the loan spell, Chelsea recalled him. By virtue of being younger, he was given the starting berth ahead of the veteran Cech by then manager Jose Mourinho. However, with two quality players for the same position, one had to make way so that both could be happy - it ended with Cech being sold to Arsenal.

With no competition, Courtois reportedly had squabbles with the goalkeeping coaches. Also the arrival of Antonio Conte and his own technical team led to the replacement of long-standing coach Lollichon Christophe. The Belgian had won another battle.

However, things have not been good of late. He claims that he misses his family that is still in Madrid and that he would like to return there. Rumours have it that Real Madrid want him to replace Keylor Navas if they do not get their preferred target of De Gea. David De Gea has been on the team's radar for over two years now and will be the club's No.1 target for the goalkeeping position in the summer.

At the end of this season, Courtois will have one year left on his contract and Chelsea have to act fast. He is stalling the signing of a new contract despite the club's best attempts. He has been attracting a lot of interest and the chances of him staying at Chelsea for long aren't very big.

He also reportedly wants a team that can consistently compete in the Champions League, and while Chelsea are still favorites to land a top-four finish in the League, his ambitions would be much safer in a team like Real Madrid or PSG.

Chelsea have done the best they could to keep him at the Bridge but it seems Courtois was never interested in staying for long. In the unfortunate circumstance that Courtois doesn't sign a new contract by the end of the season,selling him would be the best option.

Chelsea's brilliant Belgian duo in need of new contracts

There would be no point in letting him go on a free transfer when some of the biggest names in football are knocking on your doors with a sack full of money.

The problem for Chelsea however is - what do they do AFTER selling Courtois? Their current back-up is an aging Willy Caballero. A team like Chelsea require a young and powerful keeper, and there aren't a lot of them in the market right now. Chelsea's scouts need to line up a replacement assuming the worst and move in on the transfer as quickly as they can.

On the other hand, if Courtois does sign his new contract along with his Belgian teammate Eden Hazard, it would be a great step in their mission of mounting a bigger fight next season.