Chelsea withhold talks for the sale of Courtois

Chelsea have put the talks with Real Madrid about the possible sale of Thibaut Courtois on hold for the time being, Sky Sports have reported.

Courtois has been linked with a move to Madrid for a long time. Chelsea have signed 38-year-old Robert Green to act as the third-choice shot-stopper but so far they haven’t been able to secure a proper replacement for the Belgian as the No.1. They’ve been reportedly involved in a tussle over Alisson Becker but only to lose out on the Brazil international to Liverpool.

The start of the Premier League season is approaching fast and the Blues are reluctant to enter it without a top-class goalkeeper, so they’ve decided to pull out of the negotiations to sell Courtois, currently valued at only £32million as his contract expires in 11 months. Should the situation remain as it is, Chelsea would risk losing the two-time Premier League winner for free next summer.

Having already expressed his desire to move to Madrid and be with his family, he is unlikely to sign a new deal by then.