Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has reportedly demanded double his current £90,000-a-week wages, with talks being put on hold as a result.
The Belgian international is under contract with Chelsea until 2019, but talks over an extension have already begun as the Blues look to tie down one of their most important players.
However, according to The Daily Mail, he wants to double his £90,000-a-week salary before committing, which has forced the two parties to put talks on hold for the time being.
The 25-year-old has established himself as one of the top shot-stoppers in Europe, and so it’s no surprise that it’s added in the report that Chelsea are hopeful that they can reach an agreement ahead of next season with the squad reporting for pre-season training in a fortnight or so.
While it had appeared as though Real Madrid, who have long been linked with a swoop for Courtois, were looking at other targets, as per the report, this latest development could spark their interest again.
Should Chelsea fail to agree on an extension with Courtois before the start of next season, they run the real risk of seeing him leave in a cut-price deal next summer or worse yet, on a free the year after.
Nevertheless, that situation is a long way off at this point, and although the suggestion that talks are on hold due to Courtois and his demands remains a concern, both parties are seemingly pretty relaxed about it and will re-start talks at a later date.
From Antonio Conte’s perspective though, in an ideal world he would surely want the matter sorted out before the start of this coming season, so as to avoid it becoming any sort of distraction for his first-choice goalkeeper.