Official: CFC Capture Thibaut Courtois

By: Devin | July 18th, 2011

There you have it folks, our first official signing of the summer window comes just as the lads begin preseason preparations in Malaysia. More on Mr. Thibs after the jump:

key_art_they_call_me_mr_tibbs

What he said.

To be frank, and not Jim (ha) this one came out of left field. I don’t believe many of us in fandom had any inkling we were in the market for a keeper- let alone a young prospect that could likely start for many major squads in most countries. So it therefore comes as a welcome surprise to see Chelsea make such a bold acquisition to begin what will hopefully be a productive and efficient summer of outlays. With a fee in the range of 9 million being bandied about, I would say this is an excellent purchase. In Courtois, CFC have the Belgian young goalkeeper of the last year, and at 19, a significant prospect for the future that could be a readymade replacement for Big Pete in a few years time.

Reports have already suggested that Thibs was to be purchased and loaned back to his current club, Genk, for at least two seasons of further experience and tutelage. Rubbish, it seems. The latest chatter now indicates Thibs will actually be making the transition to Atletico Madrid, where he will have the immediate responsibility of filling the recently vacated slot of David De Gea. These reports also mention a minimum of two seasons at Madrid. This, my friends, is my excited face. I’m totally behind this purchase, and moreso behind the desire to loan him out to an experienced club that plays in a competitive league and in a variety of competitions. Such exposure is priceless, and it will go a long way towards determining just how good Thibs can actually be/become. Two seasons? Hell, make it three and lets really find out what sort of diamond this kid can become. After all, he would return to Cobham at 22 years of age, not exactly past his prime by any stretch.

Thibs is currently having his medical at The Bridge, upon completion of which, he will be formally introduced to the club and press. He could immediately fly out to Malaysia to join with the senior squad, but the suggestion is he’ll remain in London until a loan with Atletico or another club can be finalized. I for one, would just like to go on record as saying that we should all be very excited by his acquisition- anyone that actually follows the Belgian league (I only know one person) can tell you that Thibs is an excellent keeper with massive potential. Sending him away rather than having him rot on the bench is a bright decision and one that certainly suggests AVB’s vision for youth development and acquisitions.

So lets welcome our newest purchase with open arms and hope that one day he can man the sticks with the same quiet confidence of our own Big Pete McNasty.

KTBFFH

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Category: Chelsea Loans, Chelsea Reserves, Chelsea Team News, Player News, Transfer News

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El cubano

Its a mistake sending him to atletico. Atletico already have 2 young spaniard gk which are very good. I highly doubt hell get any playing time
pfelds

not really sure what to say or think here. I guess this is a start in the transfer market. thing is, he doesnt join in person for a good while, not to mention he is a prsopective cech replacement, when cech has a good 8-10 years left at his level. I dont want to sound too anxious but, this is shite in terms of mending the fences. We have yet to sign or release anyone (of first team relevance) whilst we have watched 'pool, Manure, Chitty, and for god sakes even arsenal make moves. Ive even been reading that Lukaku could be on the verge of a move to the goons since we cant seem to focus long enough to change a light bulb let alone negotiate some good, sensible transfers in or out. Its almost august, trade deadline is approaching swiftly, and it would do Mr. Abromovich some good to realize player values are only going to rise & their clubs willingness to release shrinks as dealine day nears. Please don't make it standard practice to act as we did in January.
Blue_Juggernaut

although it might have been nice to see AVB splashing the cash i prefer the sensible route he's taking to assess the squad fully then go in and buy whoever he needs, without insulting Carlo and what he did for the club i never thought he had the ability to take the club forward-considering the average age of AC when he left there-but AVB seems the man to make the right decisions and develop the players as well as the club,i would love to see Josh,Sturridge,Lalkovic-the fastest player over 10 yards i have seen since a certain Argentinean made a Messi of the united defense in the Champs' League Final- as well as Bertrand and Chalobah given chances to develop in the first team,people are quick to say Chelsea buys established talent and throws away youngsters from the academy but if the players are not good enough for the 1st team why hold onto them,i feel these guys are top quality and will form the spine of our 1st team in years to come when Super Frank,King Terry and The Drogbazooka have hung up their boots. Whatever happens i feel totally relaxed and completely excited for the future knowing AVB is taking us forward!! Back in '93 Liverpool told united "Come back when you've won 18" perhaps with AVB at the healm for the next 30+ years Chelsea will be coming back with 20+ titles and a handful of Champs' Leagues to rub in the dirty faces of those BOYS up North!!!!

KTBFFH
Kenny Shackelford

love the move. glad we went this route with Cech's potential replacement rather than a 26-30 year old or (ugh) Turnbull.
kaka

Hope we could tie up a deal for lukaku , Aguero and a creative midfielder plus i would also hope for rajkovic to be included in CFC squad for the season . He really looked great while playing . How come he still does not have a work permit?..........
Blue_Juggernaut

am i the only one who sees that the loan out to Atletico-who wanted to siggn Thibs to replace De Gea-could in fact be a bargaining chip in bringing Aguero to the bridge!!!!I for one will be keeping a close eye on the situation and hope to see Kun and Pastore wearing the Chelsea Royal Blue very soon!!
kaka

I really hope that what you expect will happen
Wayne

i like your thinking he should be loaned to Atletico as a replacement for de gea and hpefullyaguero could be a part of that deal........
orthodoxyordeath

The loan move was top notch. It's great to see us buying young players and sending them out to get experience rather than leaving them to languish on our bench and reserves.

KTBFFH
Dzenan Kotoric

this is a great signing and everything, however what do we do we the upcoming season, I don't think that we are strong enough to compete domestically or in Europe. When will we start signing immediate impacts.
kaka

But AVB while attending a press meet in Malayasia has told that he will definitely get in to the market after the 15 days tour and that he will buy whatever player is needed for chelsea. So relax we will get our new players
pfelds

problem there is that in 15ish days we will be in the month of august, and trying to sign up players in a bit of a hurry, that does not bode well for us in terms of $$, bargaining power, and team chemistry.