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Chelsea won’t miss Thibaut Courtois

By Rucker Haringey

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 9: Goalkeeper of Chelsea Thibaut Courtois in action during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at Stamford Bridge stadium on March 9, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 9: Goalkeeper of Chelsea Thibaut Courtois in action during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at Stamford Bridge stadium on March 9, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images) /
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Asmir Begovic is more than capable of filling Thibaut Courtois’ role at Chelsea

Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois seems to be unsure where he will be playing his football next season. With Real Madrid circling, he certainly could leave the Blues this off-season. Fortunately for the club, they have a ready-made replacement in the form of Asmir Begovic.

The Evening Standard reports that Courtois is anxious to engineer a move back to La Liga with Los Blancos being the most interested club. Don’t forget, the towering keeper spent three successful years on loan with Atletico Madrid before assuming the starting position at Stamford Bridge.

The Belgian international specifically mentioned his disappointment not to win a trophy with Chelsea this season. He pointed out that this is the first season of his professional career where he has not been able to attain some silverware.

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Chelsea may have their pride damaged if Courtois wants to leave for Real Madrid, but it won’t impact them much on the pitch. Former Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic has already proven he can be an excellent Premier League keeper. In fact, by some statistical measures he’s been better than Courtois.

For instance, Whoscored.com rates Begovic slightly higher in the league this season. It may only be a hundredth of a point statistical advantage, but it’s still there. At the very least, inserting Begovic into the lineup for Courtois wouldn’t be the disaster some English pundits would have you believe.

What’s even more interesting, is that Begovic’s best season in-goal for Stoke was statistically superior to any year Courtois has had at any club. His Whoscored.com player average of 7.01 in the 2013-14 season for the Potters proves he can be a world-class player. He may not look as good in-goal as the monstrous Courtois, but he can be even more effective.

There’s also the small matter that Chelsea will have the ability to sell Courtois for a small fortune. They have him under contract for three more years so they can command a monstrous fee from someone like Real Madrid. It’s not out of the question that the Blues could coax a world-record fee out of the La Liga giants.

The one weakness in trading Courtois for Begovic is that the Belgian keeper should continue to get better over the next few years while Begovic has likely peaked. There is a five-year age-gap between the two players, but at 28, Begovic certainly isn’t old. He could easily be Chelsea’s number one choice for the next six or eight seasons.

Related Story: 5 players Chelsea must upgrade next season

Thibaut Courtois might not know where he’s going to play next season, but Chelsea fans shouldn’t be overly concerned. If he does engineer a move away from Stamford Bridge, they can simply plug Asmir Begovic into the starting 11 without a worry.

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