Thibaut Courtois

[The Big Drog 1,110]

I watched the Athletico vs Valencia game tonight. He didn't have a lot to do, what he did have to deal with he dealt with well but he was well protected by a disciplined and hard working Athletico side who have found a new lease of life under Diego Simeone.

[Hamilton 2,118]

Unbelievable..

.. is this a fairytale?

Keep going Thibaut!

[francozola 2,040]

Would it be possible to loan him to a PL side next season? I know he would like to stay at Atletico but he definitely needs to be tried out here first.

[zolayes 14,489]

We usually play close to 60 games . Why not bring him back to share with Cech say 40 ..20

[Atholy 1,293]

5 consecutive clean sheets or 451minutes without conceiving a goal => Just read that this result means that Courtois is the best GK Atlético had in more than 20 years

Petr, just give a ring whenever you want to take the weekend off

Let's hope he can hold another 2 clean sheets and then the game against Barcelona! Could get interesting!!

Either way amazing result of Thibaut! Spanish media => "De Geawho?"

[Kez 2,727]

I seriously hope we don't let this guy go, we've found Cech's replacement!!!

[Joker10 946]

How is Courtois distribution skills?

The only qualm i have with our current #1 is his distribution of the ball. If AVB goes back to the possession football style, then Cech would be a poor fit.

[francozola 2,040]

Guys we shouldn't get carried away! We should learn from what has happened to De Gea this season. De Gea is still a great goalkeeper and you can see it in glimpses but overall he has been a disaster for Utd - at least for now. He will probably improve with time and show his true potential. Courtois is a wonderful prospect but before we tell Cech to take a hike and celebrate this guy as his replacement, he should be tested out in the Premier League/Championship first imo. I'm sure we can loan him out to a club like Fulham or something. Understandably, he won't be able to go to a "big" club, but he doesn't have to stay there forever. Just 6 months or maybe a season to show that he can cope with English football.

Perhaps we should let him stay at Atletico until the end of next season but we have to let him spend the 13/14 season on loan in England, so that in 2 and a half seasons time, he will have given us an answer.

[manpe 10,855]

Guys we shouldn't get carried away! We should learn from what has happened to De Gea this season. De Gea is still a great goalkeeper and you can see it in glimpses but overall he has been a disaster for Utd - at least for now. He will probably improve with time and show his true potential. Courtois is a wonderful prospect but before we tell Cech to take a hike and celebrate this guy as his replacement, he should be tested out in the Premier League/Championship first imo. I'm sure we can loan him out to a club like Fulham or something. Understandably, he won't be able to go to a "big" club, but he doesn't have to stay there forever. Just 6 months or maybe a season to show that he can cope with English football.

Perhaps we should let him stay at Atletico until the end of next season but we have to let him spend the 13/14 season on loan in England, so that in 2 and a half seasons time, he will have given us an answer.

The club and Courtois have said that their plan is 3 season loan before joining us... 1 (or 2) in Spain and 1 (or 2) in England.. so it's either 2+1 or 1+2, I don't remember which. The club is handling him very carefully and won't be thrown in starting squad like De Gea.

[francozola 2,040]

The club and Courtois have said that their plan is 3 season loan before joining us... 1 (or 2) in Spain and 1 (or 2) in England.. so it's either 2+1 or 1+2, I don't remember which. The club is handling him very carefully and won't be thrown in starting squad like De Gea.

I didn't know about the England thing! I remember him saying that he'd like to stay in Atletico for 2 or 3 more years. Anyway, that's good!

[capriccioso 2,545]

Cech's not even 30 yet. He potentially has 7 or 8 world class years ahead of him.

[francozola 2,040]

Cech's not even 30 yet. He potentially has 7 or 8 world class years ahead of him.

Hmm I'm not sure if that applies to Cech. For regular goalkeepers, definitely, but with what Petr has gone through... I question his ability to go past maybe 3 or 4 more years. He's still a very good goalkeeper but he's nowhere near as good as what he was before Hunt's kick. He makes some excellent saves and he is a leader but we have already seen that he is prone to make more and more mistakes recently. He's still better than 99% of his peers but like I said... I wonder if he can last past the 13/14 season.

[francozola 2,040]

from https://twitter.com/#!/BelgoFoot

BelgoFoot John Chapman

Marca journo (Juan Castro) says good chance Thibaut Courtois will be back at Chelsea in summer; says he's just below Valdes and Casillas.

BelgoFoot John Chapman

Castro says Courtois one of best young keepers in Europe, 1st name on team sheet; unbeaten in 455 minutes, 10 clean sheets /19 league games

[manpe 10,855]

Hmm I'm not sure if that applies to Cech. For regular goalkeepers, definitely, but with what Petr has gone through... I question his ability to go past maybe 3 or 4 more years. He's still a very good goalkeeper but he's nowhere near as good as what he was before Hunt's kick. He makes some excellent saves and he is a leader but we have already seen that he is prone to make more and more mistakes recently. He's still better than 99% of his peers but like I said... I wonder if he can last past the 13/14 season.

There have been talks about Cech's fitness, especially by Courtois... he said that the club told him that they were worried that Cech might have shorter career than expected.

[eldo 868]

Guys we shouldn't get carried away! We should learn from what has happened to De Gea this season. De Gea is still a great goalkeeper and you can see it in glimpses but overall he has been a disaster for Utd - at least for now. He will probably improve with time and show his true potential. Courtois is a wonderful prospect but before we tell Cech to take a hike and celebrate this guy as his replacement, he should be tested out in the Premier League/Championship first imo. I'm sure we can loan him out to a club like Fulham or something. Understandably, he won't be able to go to a "big" club, but he doesn't have to stay there forever. Just 6 months or maybe a season to show that he can cope with English football.

Perhaps we should let him stay at Atletico until the end of next season but we have to let him spend the 13/14 season on loan in England, so that in 2 and a half seasons time, he will have given us an answer.

From la liga to championship?

[francozola 2,040]

From la liga to championship?

He should be tried out in English football as it's very different to Spanish football. If we can send him to a PL club, that would be better obviously

[capriccioso 2,545]

I think the best case scenario for him next season should he leave La Liga would be for us to find a low mid table/relegation battler type team for him to play for.

[Kostas 1,468]

He should be tried out in English football as it's very different to Spanish football. If we can send him to a PL club, that would be better obviously

I certainly don't agree with that idea, league-adaptation may be very important for outfield players (IMHO that concept is simplistic and over-rated) but the differences for goalies are absolutely negligible.

This is all very "academic" but I wouldn't waste one year of his contract and his career on loans that are below his level.