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Thibaut Courtois may be off in sunny Southern California enjoying the sights and the sounds and the activities on the latest stop of his extended Ameri-trip that’s already seen him visit Lost Wages, the Grand Canyon, and the Hollyest of Woods. Football seems the be the last thing on T-BO’s mind, and rightly so. He’s earned his vacation after a stellar year between the posts for Chelsea.
But for his agent, there is no rest. There are contract talks to be had with Chelsea, with Courtois looking for a pay-packet on par with the other best goalkeeper in the Premier League, David De Gea, which would also, at least temporarily, put him on par with Eden Hazard as one of the highest paid players at Chelsea. Again, fair enough. Courtois has been set up as the long-term successor to Petr Cech, and so far, against the odds one could even say after his three-year loan stint at Atletico, the plan is working and working well.
Those contract talks were put on hold however a couple weeks ago, with Chelsea assuring that they will pick back up once the players return for pre-season training in about 7-10 days.
So in the meantime, what’s an agent to do? Stir the pot of course.
“Obviously the biggest clubs are interested in Thibaut, and that includes the reigning European champions. He is a goalkeeper who wins you games, wins you trophies.”
"I meet regularly with Real Madrid's directors and Thibaut's situation is evaluated. My role is to keep him informed of the situation."
-Christophe Henrotay; source: Sport Magazine via ESPN
Courtois-to-Real Madrid is a rumor as old as time itself, but it has died down a little over the past few months as the good times rolled at Chelsea and Courtois’ personal situation changed as well. Now it’s back because it suits the agent.
Should we be concerned? Probably not.
An agent regularly meets people. That's what happens... But I'm sure Real haven't made an offer.
— Kristof Terreur (@HLNinEngeland) June 28, 2017
Don't think Courtois is a priority for Real atm, but his agent admits in @sportfootmag that he regularly talks with Real directors about him pic.twitter.com/AbjpjW2SvE
— Kristof Terreur (@HLNinEngeland) June 28, 2017