Apart from the fact that he is 199cm tall, there are many remarkable facts about Thibaut Courtois. Last season he became the first Belgian and only the eighth non-Spaniard to win the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for the Primera goalkeeper with the best games-to-goals-conceded ratio; he made his debut for Racing Genk in Belgium aged just 16 years and 341 days; he is Belgium’s youngest-ever goalkeeper; and he has never played a game for his parent club, Chelsea.
Courtois joined Chelsea from Genk in July 2011 but the Blues immediately sent him out on loan to the Vicente Calderon, where he is currently enjoying his third season with Atletico Madrid. After helping Atleti to win the Europa League in his first season there, Courtois last season conceded only 30 goals in 37 League matches to land the Zamora. Beaten only 14 times in 21 Primera appearances so far in the current campaign, he is on course to retain the trophy.
Despite his excellent form and the fact that nobody seems to have a bad word to say about the highly-rated 21-year-old, his future beyond the end of this season, when his current loan agreement is set to expire, remains uncertain. Reports were circulating before Christmas that Barcelona had launched a bid to sign Courtois in the summer and that he was their prime target to replace Victor Valdes, who is due to leave the Catalans at the end of the season.
Chelsea are reported to have insisted on a fee of at least €20m for Courtois, but are said not to be keen on selling him. The man himself is understandably concerned that he will be warming the bench for long periods with Petr Cech’s form showing little sign of fading. A move to Camp Nou could be tempting, but Courtois has said that he was never interested in going there, following reports that Barca are keen to secure the services of Borussia Monchengladbach’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen as their new No. 1.
Atletico would undoubtedly like to keep Courtois, who has played 126 times for them, but are likely to be deterred by the price tag. Reports have suggested that Diego Simeone could opt for Liverpool’s Pepe Reina – currently on loan at Napoli – if they fail to lure Courtois. Further speculation has linked the goalkeeper with a swap that could see Diego Costa heading to Stamford Bridge, but Jose Mourinho has said he cannot imagine Courtois remaining with Atleti, reiterating that he is a Chelsea player.
Meanwhile, Atletico remain in contention to win La Liga, sitting jointly at the summit with Barcelona and a point ahead of Real Madrid. They are also still in the Copa del Rey and are preparing to face Milan in the last 16 of the Champions League. Courtois’ future could be determined sooner rather than later, but if he helps Simeone land some silverware, his value will increase even further.
