It is no secret that Thibaut Courtois wants to part ways with Chelsea and the Blues are already looking for replacements in the transfer market. As long as they didn’t appoint Maurizio Sarri as the manager, the Pensioners were inactive in the transfer market but with his official announcement, they have made the signing of Jorginho and are being linked with quite a few players now.
One of the candidates who has emerged to replace Courtois is Jack Butland of Stoke City. The Potters went down to the Championship after a dismal season which means that they are likely to lose some of their key players. Xherdan Shaqiri has already joined Liverpool and it shouldn’t come as a surprise if the English custodian also leaves the club in this ongoing transfer period.
The Big Belgian won the Golden Glove at the 2018 World Cup and is being linked with a move to Real Madrid. The Galacticos have been looking to replace Keylor Navas for quite some time now and Courtois will definitely be a top class option to have.
After missing out on the Champions League spot, top players are being linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge which will be a cause of concern for the new manager Maurizio Sarri. Maybe because of that, they were unable to lure Alisson Becker to London as the AS Roma custodian went on to join Liverpool.
Butland has plenty of experience in the English top flight and he was part of England’s squad for the 2018 World Cup. However, he didn’t make an appearance for them as Gareth Southgate preferred Jordan Pickford over him. The Englishman managed 6 clean sheets last season but that was largely down to poor defensive performance from his team.
Over the past few years, Butland has been one of the standout players at the Bet 365 Stadium and losing him will be a huge loss for Gary Rowett. The Potters have already lost the services of Lee Grant to Manchester United so they are likely to go for a new goalkeeper in the transfer market.
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Sarri’s aim will be to get Chelsea back to Champions League and for that, he will need a strong and able goalkeeper. Butland might not be at the same level as Courtois but given the experience he has, this could be the big break that the 25-year-old will be looking for to kick-start his second phase of the career.
