Chelsea just had a pretty successful season finished, winning the Europa League and finishing third in the league, amid all the turbulence that the club went through this season. But still when Jose Mourinho returns to the club in the summer one question will haunt his mind with the thoughts of Thibaut Courtois and whether or not to give the first team place to their veteran keeper Peter Cech or an provide opportunity to young stopper Courtois, who is supposed to return from his loan spell at Atletico Madrid.
Courtois was bought by Chelsea in 2011 from Belgian club Racing Genk and was straight away sent to Spanish side Atletico Madrid on a loan spell. Courtois has evolved to be one of the best goalkeepers not just in Spain but in all of Europe right now.
This season his form has been stupendous with him keeping 20 clean sheets in 37 appearances for his club. He has been one of the main reasons for Atletico Madrid’s success in the league this season. He has managed to save two shots per matches and if not for him, Atletico would have conceded many more. He has displayed wonderful aerial abilities, which is a key factor to taste success in the Premier League.
The biggest advantage with Coutois is his age. While most of the goalkeepers get featured into the first team from the age of 25 or after, Courtois plays for a top club like Atletico on a regular basis at the tender age of 21. Therefore it is not hard to imagine what a player he would turn out to be in the next ten years, if he keeps on developing at this pace.
His national team, Belgium is also pretty excited about him and he would certainly be one of the first name on the teamsheets in the World Cup, 2014, provided they get to qualify.
Although no one can complain about Cech yet who again he has had a tremendous season, but when you have a player like Courtois in the team, you must feel bad for the veteran keeper as his playing time is definitely going to get reduced. Therefore, Mourinho should certainly call back him from Spain, even if it is against his wish, and gradually include him in the first team.
In other news, the Blues have released their official away kit for next season. Adidas say the new threads pay “homage to the club’s iconic white kits with blue and red trim during the 1960s”. All in all, Adidas have done a good job with Chelsea with both their kits unlike Liverpool’s horrible looking away jerseys.
Here we leave you with a video of the Blues donning the away jerseys for the first time.