Stamford Bridge custodian wanted by Nou Camp giants.

Barcelona reportedly want Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois as a replacement for Victor Valdes.

The 20-year-old is currently on loan at Atletico Madrid and has caught the attention of the Catalan giants.

SOURCE: Daily Mail

Thiabaut Courtois is a keeper with a bright future but that future may well lie away from Stamford Bridge given that Petr Cech, at 30, is still relatively young in goalkeeping terms and seemingly nowhere nearer to being unseated as the Blues number one keeper anytime soon.

Prior to last night’s 4-1 defeat at Barcelona, Atletico Madrid had conceded just 13 goals in 15 La Liga matches and Courtois had amassed seven clean sheets in domestic league action alone. Last season he helped the Vicente Calderon side to a Europa League title and the youngster is now the starting keeper for the Belgian national team and it’s therefore no surprise that Europe’s ‘Elite’ are paying close attention.

Barcelona have depended on Victor Valdes for many years but as far as back-up options to keep the 30 year old on his toes, Jose Manuel Pinto doesn’t really cut it. Therefore it makes sense for Tito Vilanova to keep an eye on prospective keepers for the long term.

Chelsea will surely fight off interest in Courtois but unless they are ready to hand the former Racing Genk goalie his first team debut any time soon they may have to cash-in on the talented starlet.

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