Chelsea Boss Jose Mourinho Warns Barcelona Off Thibaut Courtois

Jose Mourinho has insisted Chelsea will not be bullied into selling Thibaut Courtois, the keeper who is on loan at Atletico Madrid and being tracked by Barcelona.

Courtois, in Mourinho’s eyes, is the best young goalkeeper in the world. However, his path to the Chelsea first team is blocked by Petr Cech, who has been the Blues’ No. 1 since making the move to Stamford Bridge from French side Rennes in 2004.

Courtois has performed with distinction in the past couple of seasons for Atletico, who have been linked with a bid to make him a permanent addition to their ranks.

To muddy the waters, there is interest from Barcelona who are set to lose Victor Valdes when his contract runs out in the summer.

Mourinho is aware of the transfer speculation but is not fazed by the reports and insists it is Chelsea who hold all the cards.

In a piece written by Ben Jefferson of the Express, Mourinho said:

"

We control the situation. Not Barcelona. Not Atletico. Not another team that can be interested in one of our goalkeepers.

We don't have a problem. Teams with a problem are teams without good goalkeepers.

"

Courtois has made it clear that he wants to play rather than warm the bench as Cech’s understudy.

For the moment, Mourinho is not concerned by a potential battle for the Chelsea keeper’s jersey, saying: 

"

In this moment I don't think about it. It's a good decision.

We have the best goalkeeper in the world and the best young goalkeeper in the world.

Our goal is safe and financially we are also very safe because their value in the market is the value of the best.

"

Courtois is certainly not short on confidence, as he said, per ESPN, that he is among the world’s top five.

"I am in my best moment of form right now," Courtois said. "I feel as if I am among the top five goalkeepers in the world."

Such bold talk could make life interesting at Chelsea if Courtois returns to the club next year.