A position held for a decade, life without Petr Cech between the sticks at Stamford Bridge is hard to imagine. But, Chelsea do have one of the brightest goalkeeping talents in Europe on their books in on-loan Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtios and there are several question marks surrounding who will be wearing the number one jersey for Chelsea next year. The reliable old guard of Cech or the exciting potential of Courtios?
There is no denying Petr Cech is still a top goalkeeper and plays in a position which many consider to have longevity as many keepers have demonstrated playing well into the final years of their career. Many will argue that goalkeepers are like a fine wine, often getting better with age as they become more experienced, examples being Gianlugi Buffon and Brad Friedel.
However, Chelsea cannot lose Thibaut Courtios. Quite simply one of the brightest talents in European football, he has the potential to be a world class keeper, so much so to even eclipse the feats Petr Cech has achieved at the club. Tall, assured and agile, it is hard to believe that Courtios is just at the tender age of 21. Rumours of a swap deal with Atletico Madrid for hotshot Diego Costa have been doing the rounds on the gossip columns, but this would be very poor business from Chelsea’s perspective as they would be letting go of such potential.
To give people an idea of how highly Thibaut Courtios is regarded in Spain, Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simone gave this verdict: “For me, any price for Courtois would be cheap. He is a young guy who has a huge future ahead of him and is on course to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world.” In his short three year spell in Spain, Thibaut Courtios has set a club record at Atletico Madrid for keeping a clean sheet for 820 minutes and last year won the Zamora award, an accolade for conceding the fewest goals in Spain.
Courtios is reportedly unsure of his future at Chelsea, with shifting the legendary Petr Cech from his No.1 spot a task he has thought he is incapable of doing for the past three seasons. But this could be the year Courtios returns to Chelsea to compete with Cech. It is unlikely Courtios will return to parent club this year if he is not given assurances of playing time. If the thought of replacing Petr Cech is unimaginable, cast your minds back to when Cech first arrived and managed to shift fan favour from No.1 Carlo Cudcini, something at the time was also unthinkable.
Courtios has already declared he will make a announcement on his future at Chelsea this week, with many fans waiting in nervous anticipation to see if Mourinho has managed to secure the former Genk goalkeeper. Courtios said: “I will tell you my decision, I will communicate it soon. But for now I am concentrating on the games that we have”.
In all, Petr Cech has had a good season, but performances of late do suggest that replacing him with Courtios could be the correct thing to do. If it means sacrificing Petr Cech to ensure Thibaut Courtios stays at Stamford Bridge, then Mourinho has a selection dilemma on his hands. Personally, it could be time for Petr to “Cech out” if it means securing Courtios.
If this is the start of the end of Petr Cech’s legacy at Chelsea with new young blood coming in as competition and the faithful begin to see less of Cech, he must be remembered for being one of the greatest goalkeepers the club has ever had. He has been part of the successful old guard that has been the backbone of Chelsea’s success in recent years. Cech is a legend, but Courtios is the future…
