Sunday, 20th January, 2013
Barcelona have added Atletico Madrid shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois to their list of potential successors for Victor Valdes.
According to Belgian broadcaster RTBF, Belgium international Courtois has popped up as an option for the Blaugrana, who have now started to prepare their plans to replace Valdes.
The Catalan goalkeeper has indicated that he will not sign a new contract at the Camp Nou and, with his current deal expiring in 2014, the race is on for his successor.
A number of names have been floated, but Courtois is perhaps the most forward-looking due to his young age.
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The 20-year-old is on his second season-long loan with Atletico Madrid from English Premier League giants Chelsea and is loving life in Spain.
And so Barcelona would need to negotiate with the Stamford Bridge side to sign Courtois.
That may not be easy, with the Blues considering the former Genk player as Petr Cech’s long-term successor.
Barcelona could well pull out all the stops to secure Courtois though, who is rated as the third-best goalkeeper in La Liga, behind Iker Casillas and Valdes.
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