Friday, 15th July, 2011
Reports from Belgium suggest that Chelsea have finally reached an agreement with Genk over young goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
The Blues had bid €4M for the 19-year-old at the end of June, but Genk rejected this, believing that valuation was too low and urged the English side to head closer to a €10M figure.
Now a compromise looks to have been struck, with Chelsea paying Genk closer to €6M, but with an understanding that the shot-stopper will not head to Stamford Bridge until next summer at the earliest, remaining at the Cristal Arena for the 2011/12 campaign.
Chelsea had been in touch with Courtois much earlier this year and the goalkeeper revealed he was excited by the plans laid before him by the Premier League giants.
Indeed, the Belgian hailed Chelsea’s "nice sporting plan where I can ease into the position of first choice goalkeeper and can grow within a few years."
The Blues have been looking to raid Belgian football for a number of targets, with Courtois team-mate at Genk Kevin De Bruyne in advanced talks and interest in Anderlecht striker Romelu Lukaku continuing.
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