The Story Back Then-
The Blues No.1 shot stopper Thibaut Courtois has turned a rebel and wanted to force a move through to Santiago Bernabeu this summer and had hence not turned up to training on Monday. Even Eden Hazard was linked with Los Blancos since Cristiano Ronaldo’s big money move to Serie A champions Juventus, but the Belgian international squashed all rumors by turning up for training ahead of the new season and the Stamford Bridge hierarchy are also preparing to offer the 27 year old a new £300,000 per week contract.
Chelsea were in desperate need of a replacement in case Thibaut Courtois is adamant of holding the club on ransom and forces a move to the European giants and if latest reports coming out of England were to be believed. They were preparing a €100m bid for Atletico Madrid’s 1st choice Jan Oblak, that’s right the Blues have zeroed in on one of the best keepers in the world Jan Oblak is certainly one of them.
Jan Oblak is probably the best keeper currently available in the market that is if the Roji Blancos decide to cash in on him but there isn’t much time left for negotiations as the British transfer market shuts down on Thursday and if Chelsea want him they will have to agree personal terms with the keeper and manage to convince him to jump ships and activate the €100m release clause only then they can replace quality with quality and chances are really slim of Chelsea managing to pull this one of.
It seems Chelsea have already begun negotiations with Athletic Bilbao over a possible transfer of their No.1 choice Kepa Arrizabagala and the Basque club have demanded almost €80m and the Blues have decided to go ahead with the transfer since there isn’t much time left to re-negotiate due to the new deadline day and they can’t really keep hold of Courtois now and let him go for free next summer as he would easily fetch them around €35 to €40m and all parties would be happy if Chelsea do manage to get hold of the 23 year old Spanish international.
Real Madrid have also put in a sweetener in the deal of Thibaut Courtois and in my opinion Chelsea couldn’t be more happier as Mateo Kovacic is being offered by the European giants for a season long loan and the Croatian international is also growing frustrated at the Santiago Bernabeu due to limited first team opportunities and Chelsea’s pursuit of a midfielder would come to an end, If all things go as it is it would be a good summer indeed for the South West London club as they would have a great coach at helm in Maurizio Sarri, a good controlling midfielder in Jorginho and with possible arrivals of Mateo Kovacic and Kepa Arrizibagala, Chelsea can really hope to challenge for Premier League title and also be considered a serious contender to win it.
The Latest Update-
It seems that since the Belgian international has now left the club, the west London outfit will go for Kepa, who recently triggered his release clause and is now a free agent to join them. Hopefully, that deal happens soon or he could be in big trouble in the days to come.
However, clearly Oblak was the more experienced star, though now this deal will surely not happen, as it seems. He was wanted by a number of top clubs this summer, though it seems that Diego Simeone’s side has held on to him.
There is a reason why Zidane blocked his move to the Bernabeu when the European champs had the chance to sign him. However, it seems that the Premier League giants have just ignored all those reasons and are looking to sign him now.
Another thing is that it is quite strange to me is that Chelsea did not want a swap deal for Navas and chose Kovacic instead on loan. Funny world this is!!
