Thibaut Courtois has committed his future to the Blues by signing a new five-year deal.
The Belgian international has seemingly won the fight to be our first-choice goalkeeper this season after returning to London as his loan-spell at Atletico Madrid came to an end this summer.
Jose Mourinho has opted for the 22-year-old in the opening three fixtures this season, which reflects the trust shown in the shot-stopper.
I’m very happy with this new deal, it’s really nice to have signed this new contract for five years. My future was already sorted but it’s nice to know I’m going to be here for another five years and now I can just concentrate on playing games, Courtois said.
Three years ago Courtois signed from Genk but he did not make his Premier League debut until the start of this season away to Burnley in August.
As early as last week rumours began to spread that Courtois was expected to sign a new contract on his return from international duty, and Thursday the deal was confirmed by the club on their website.
Chelsea Football Club is pleased to announce Thibaut Courtois has today signed a new five-year contract.
At only 22, Courtois is showing more than promising abilities between the sticks by being a very good shot-stopper as well as a commander and leader from the back. He also distributes the ball with high accuracy and can safely bring down a cross from physical aerial battles.
Courtios enjoyed a lot of success in his time at Atletico Madrid lifting the La Liga trophy last season in addition to winning Copa del Rey and the Europa League during his three years in the Spanish capital, which also saw him gain a whole lot of valuable experience from both challenging for titles, European cups and cup finals.
After our win against Leicester last month, the gaffer praised Courtois for his alertness, and compared him to young Petr Cech.
It’s important at a big club to have the kind of goalkeeper who’s almost sleeping during the match, and suddenly in the right moment he says ‘yes, I’m here’. Thibaut did this, the same way Petr did so many times for us.
Cech, who now looks set for the bench this season, has been our number one since 2004, but will now have to go head-to-head with Courtois to earn his place back.
Mourinho however defends giving Courtois the nod, saying it is all about the long-term plan the club has in place.
We have to think about future and to give it to Courtois. I’m feeling so safe with having these two keepers with us.
What do you think; does Courtois deserve to play ahead of Cech?
Chelsea Talk