Antonio Conte’s Chelsea have failed to find enough consistency this season and are now in danger of losing out on a place in the top-4 of the points table. Antonio Conte added a couple of players to his squad in the January transfer window but he is still evidently unhappy with the options at his disposal at Stamford Bridge.
To add to the problems, a couple of first-team stars are postponing their contract extension at Chelsea at the moment. Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard is yet to sign a new deal and could quit the country at the end of the season but one player, who now spoken about his contract situation is Thibaut Courtois.
Currently the first choice shot-stopper for Chelsea, Courtois is one of the best goalkeepers, not just in England but also in Europe. He joined Chelsea back in 2011 but only established himself at Stamford Bridge, after a three-year loan spell at Atletico Madrid, where he made 111 La Liga appearances, before moving to England.
He already has 116 Premier League appearances and 53 international appearances for Belgium and is a player who cannot be easily replaced. So it is natural that Chelsea want him to extend his stay beyond the end of the transfer window.
The 25-year old ‘s contract in England comes to an end in 2019 but he has now spoken to the media and revealed that ‘his heart is in Madrid’.
In an interview with a Belgian news publication, he revealed that his personal connections with the Spanish capital take his heart there but went on to say that he is still happy at Chelsea and is in talks with a contract extension. However, he accepted that offers from Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid might not be easy to reject so how should Chelsea deal with this situation?
Having emerged as one of the best shot-stoppers in recent times, the 25-year old has a huge future ahead of him and has almost a decade of top-class quality left in his game. He probably walks into most of the top clubs in Europe and will cost record money if he does move, come the end of the season.
Chelsea need to act fast and tie him down to a new deal, which will fetch them more when he is sold, as money is the only way the Belgian can be replaced at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues still have to decide on the future of the manager Antonio Conte and this situation with Courtois only makes it tougher. But retaining the former Atletico Madrid man should be of utmost importance, as there are no more than a couple of names in Europe, that can replace him adequately.
