Saturday, 9th July, 2011
Chelsea are preparing a new bid for Genk goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois after their initial offer of €4M was rejected out of hand by the Belgian champions.
Courtois has already been gushing in his praise for Chelsea’s plans for his future, believing there is a path laid down for his eventual succession to Petr Cech.
"Chelsea has a nice sporting plan ready where I can ease into the position of first choice goalkeeper and can grow within a few years", said Courtois.
"It is not about one or two years, but three, four or five years so that I can develop peacefully."
However, Chelsea must first agree a fee for Courtois, and their €4M bid needs to be improved.
Privately Genk are looking for closer to €10M for the keeper and then could negotiate to bring him back on loan for the whole of next season – especially given the lack of game time Courtois would receive at Stamford Bridge.
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