Real Madrid Transfer News: Chelsea Eye Thibaut Courtois Talks Amid Fresh Rumours

Chelsea are reportedly looking to ward off interest in No. 1 goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois by re-opening contract talks ahead of the end of the season, when his current deal will only have a year remaining.

According to Matt Law in the Telegraph, there are fears at Stamford Bridge the Belgian stopper is ready to run his contract down after he revealed last week that talks had stalled and he was happy to wait until summer to begin them again.

Law added Courtois's comments "sparked renewed interest from Real Madrid and alerted Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus," and Chelsea are now not willing to risk waiting until the summer and are eager to tie the 25-year-old to new terms.

Per Lorena Gonzalez of Marca, Courtois has previously said he is sure he will one day return to La Liga having spent three hugely successful seasons at Atletico Madrid.

Real have been regularly linked with Courtois, and Blues manager Antonio Conte recently stated the importance of signing him to a new deal, per Sky Sports.

The Belgium international is one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League and already has four league titles in his trophy cabinet—one with Genk, one with Atleti, two with Chelsea—despite his relative youth. 

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Should Chelsea get to the summer without having signed Courtois to new terms, it is almost certain he will be pursued by a number of Europe's top clubs.

The Blues will be in a weak negotiating position if he has only a year left on his contract, and Real have the financial muscle to prise him away from Stamford Bridge.

Los Blancos' current No. 1 Keylor Navas is a fine goalkeeper, but Real tried to replace him with Manchester United's David De Gea back in 2015 before the deal collapsed on transfer deadline day.

It seems they now have their sights trained on Courtois and Real will likely be encouraged by the fact Chelsea are interested in Stoke City’s Jack Butland as a potential replacement, per Law.

Courtois himself will have the biggest influence over his own future as, if he does not pen a new Chelsea deal before the summer, he will become a key target for a number of top clubs.