London: Thibaut Courtois has given Premier League leaders Chelsea a boost by promising that he will not join Real Madrid this summer and would “certainly” sign a new contract with the Stamford Bridge club.
Real want to sign a new goalkeeper and Courtois is high on their list of targets, along with David de Gea of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur’s Hugo Lloris.
Chelsea will start talks over a new contract with Courtois once the fate of the title is decided, with the Belgian likely to be offered wages of around pounds 200,000 (Dh914,834) a week. That should be enough to prevent Courtois, who has regained his best form under head coach Antonio Conte, leaving for Real.
Asked by Spanish reporters about his future, Courtois said: “Real Madrid? I don’t see myself there, I see myself at Chelsea. I feel like I’m a key player in the team. I don’t see myself anywhere else.
“I won’t be at Real Madrid next season. I’m very calm because since my first year [at Chelsea] I’ve heard things like that [interest from Real Madrid]. Here at Chelsea, we’re fighting for the league and the FA Cup and I’m happy.
“I have two more years of my contract left. Everything is going well for me and I’m happy. Would I like to be offered a renewal? Certainly. I’m very happy at Chelsea and if they want me to stay, great.
“We’re working very well under Conte and there’s a long-term project to win trophies on a European level. We haven’t talked about my renewal. At the moment, we’re focused on winning the league.”
