Chelsea will tell Petr Cech to find a new club in the final weeks of the transfer window after deciding to make Thibaut Courtois their No.1 this season, Goal can reveal. Jose Mourinho is to put his faith in Courtois at the start of the campaign, spelling the end for Cech at Stamford Bridge following a decade spent as the clubs undisputed first choice. Cech will be encouraged to move as Chelsea stand to receive a more significant transfer fee from selling the Czech goalkeeper now than in 12 months, when he would have just one year to run on his contract. Courtois, who played 90 minutes in goal for the Blues in their final pre-season match on Tuesday night, will get the nod over Cech for Mondays Premier League curtain-raiser against newly promoted Burnley. The west Londoners value Cech at around £10 million. Real Madrid and wealthy French duo Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco are closely monitoring the 32-year-olds situation but no formal bids are expected until Cechs downgraded status is confirmed at the start of next week. Madrid signed Costa Rica World Cup star Keylor Navas this summer as a replacement for Diego Lopez, who is completing the formalities of a move to AC Milan, but doubts persist about the long-term future at the club of Iker Casillas, who was used only in cup matches by boss Carlo Ancelotti last season. As revealed by Goal in June, Mourinho is prepared to offload Cech after deciding that rising star Courtois represents a better long-term option between the sticks. Cech has insisted that he is not fazed by the prospect of competition from Courtois but Mourinho has told the goalkeeper to explore the possibility of a move away. But the keepers agent, Viktor Kolar, has already confirmed that he will speak to the top clubs in Europe if his client is made available. I would get in touch with [Andoni] Zubizarreta at Barcelona and people at Real Madrid, he told the press six weeks ago. These are clubs we would consider if Chelsea wanted to get rid of Petr. We would also consider Bayern Munich but they have [Manuel] Neuer there. Then there are leagues Petr would not go to - Serie A, for instance, because clubs in that league have problems. Paris Saint-Germain have shown interest and we have also communicated with Monaco. Courtois has been named La Ligas best goalkeeper in each of the last two seasons and his performances were key to Atletico Madrids Primera Division triumph last season as well as their run to the Champions League final. Mourinhos willingness to allow Cech, a hugely popular figure with supporters, to leave demonstrates his ruthlessness and desire to improve a team who narrowly missed out on winning a trophy in his first season back at Stamford Bridge. Cech has established himself as one of the worlds outstanding keepers during his decade at Stamford Bridge. Since joining Chelsea from Rennes for £7m in 2004, he has made 479 appearances for the club and won the Champions League, the Europa League, three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and three League Cups
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 15:51:57 +0000
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