Chelsea have reportedly told Atletico Madrid that on-loan goalkeeper and Barcelona target Thibaut Courtois is available next summer at a price of €24m (£21m).
Courtois has been on loan to the La Liga side for three years and has developed into one of the best young goalkeepers in the world.
AS Sport is reporting that Chelsea have put a price tag of £21m, around €24m, on the youngster, who have expressed a reluctance to come to Chelsea and back up Petr Cech.
It is also understood that Atleti CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin has passed on this information to Barcelona Vice-President Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Barca are looking for a goalkeeper to replace Victor Valdes, who is heading to Monaco next summer. Barca have been linked with a host of goalkeepers, but Courtois’s name keeps coming up as a possible replacement. Unlike other names like Pepe Reina, Courtois is still young and should only get better as he matures. He is comfortable in La Liga, and has helped Atletico Madrid to domestic and European silverware.
I don’t understand why Chelsea would give up on Courtois so easily. Petr Cech cannot go on forever, and there are many in the game, who feel that the young Belgian goalkeeper is already a better keeper than Cech.
