Thibaut Courtois is supposed to be one vacation, but according to the Daily Mail, he’s managed to find time in between spending time with his daughters to agree personal terms with Real Madrid. Of course, with that impending move meaning that he could spend a lot more time with his children than if he continued living in London, that’s perhaps okay.
The Mail mention something about Hugo Lloris, too, at £60m, but that’s surely nonsense as Kristof Terreur points out. While that does cast the rest of the report in a more untrustworthy light, Courtois agreeing terms with Madrid is hardly a bold claim given the way this rumor has been unfolding this summer.
But, personal terms, which basically means an agreement, at least in principle, over wages, bonuses, and other player-only concerns, is just one part of any transfer, and the Mail admit that the two teams have not agreed a fee yet. The rumored price is around €35m, but with Chelsea yet to secure a replacement, that may not matter too much in the end.
The narrative is that Chelsea aren’t going to sell without a replacement, and Courtois already said several times that he’d happily play out the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge. Of course, the trouble is that Chelsea then wouldn’t get anything in return for him when he does make the long-awaited switch back to Spain next year … which leaves us with some tough decisions to make in the final two weeks of the summer transfer window.
