Atletico Madrid have given an indication that their loanee goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will return to Chelsea next season as it emerged they are looking at signing AC Milan veteran Christian Abbiati in the summer.
TMW reported that the 35 year old is out of contract at the end of the season after 15 years at the San Siro and that the La Liga side have already put a proposal forward to bring him to Spain for a second spell at the club. Abbiati originally had a loan spell at Atletico Madrid during the 2007/08 season, making 30 appearances for the side.Atletico Madrid’s interest in the Italian goalkeeper signals that Courtois will return to Chelsea to fight Petr Cech for the No.1 spot. The Spanish side were keen to hold on to the youngster for next season, and he was keen to stay, but according to TMW Chelsea have insisted that the player returns to London.
However, Courtois will find it difficult to take the No.1 jersey from Cech who has been in impressive form this campaign and is again seen as one of the top keepers in Europe. The Czech Republic international is only 30 years old and like Courtois is contracted to the Premier League club until 2016 so it looks like it is going to be a straight fight to see who is selected as the side’s first choice stopper.
The Belgian youngster is in his second season Atletico Madrid where has established himself as the club's first choice goalkeeper. His impressive performances have helped him to international recognition with Belgium and he was named as the third best under 21 player in Europe for 2012.
There's every possibility that this story has been leaked in Italy to push interest for Abbiati, or pushed by Atletico Madrid to put pressure on Chelsea over Courtois.
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