Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has conceded that he can’t be certain as to whether his long-term future is with the club or not.
The 23-year-old’s surprising assessment comes as he prepares to face Portugal in an international friendly next week, with Euro 2016 very much on his mind this summer.
Following a poor season at Stamford Bridge in which the club have failed in their bid to win any silverware and have never looked like defending their Premier League crown, Courtois sounded both dejected and unsure about what lies ahead.
“I don’t know,” Courtois told RTBF. “I still have a contract for three years so we’ll see what Chelsea want too.”
“Until now I’d won a trophy every season. I tried to come back as strongly as possible [from the injury]. It’s a pity that we’re out of the FA Cup and the Champions League but I’m going to try to finish the season well and have a good European Championship with Belgium.
“Then we’ll start a new season with a new manager [at Chelsea] with the hope of doing a lot better than this year.”
With Real Madrid previously linked with a move for the Belgian international, Chelsea have done their best this week to put off the Spanish giants by placing a £73m price-tag on the shot-stopper, as reported by the London Evening Standard.
While it is highly unlikely that Los Blancos will pay that fee, Courtois’s latest comments could ultimately see Chelsea forced into a position where they have to consider their options if he is no longer committed to playing a part in their future success.
After Jose Mourinho’s sacking in December, Guus Hiddink has overseen at improvement at the club, but the Dutchman’s temporary contract will come to an end at the end of the season.
Whether or not the new long-term Chelsea manager can convince the current group of players that they will be able to build towards more success next season remains to be seen, as based on Courtois’s current state of mind, he may need reassurances about the future before making a decision on where he will be later this year.