- Chelsea looking to secure long-term futures of key individuals
- Courtois and Hazard will surely form crucial part of their plans moving forward
- Positive for goalkeeper, concern over Hazard’s status
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Chelsea are reportedly planning to take positive steps to secure the future of Thibaut Courtois, but Eden Hazard hasn’t yet had an offer.
That’s the latest update from respected Belgian journalist Kristof Terreur, as seen in his tweet below, which will be a mixed bag for Chelsea supporters.
Chelsea have planned new contract talks with Thibaut Courtois this month. And Eden Hazard is still waiting for a formal offer. #cfc pic.twitter.com/ipbugyLTzj
— Kristof Terreur ? (@HLNinEngeland) February 8, 2018
Both Belgian stars are undoubtedly crucial pieces in the current squad, and if Antonio Conte and the Blues have ambitions of bouncing back from their difficult campaign this year, they’ll surely want Courtois and Hazard leading their charge.
However, the former is a concern in particular as his contract expires in 2019, while Hazard has a year on top of that in his current deal.
In turn, in an ideal world Chelsea will avoid going into the final year of any of their top players’ contracts, as that will ultimately leave them open to the risk of losing them for a lesser fee or in the worst case, for nothing when their deal expires.
As noted in his AS column, Guillem Balague suggests that Courtois could have a release clause inserted into any new deal that he signs, with the overlying threat of a move from Real Madrid still in the background for Chelsea to also consider.
Looking at their own interests though, convincing Courtois to sign a new agreement is surely the most sensible strategy from a Blues perspective to strengthen their own position even if facing the threat of a sale.