Courtois: "I'm ready to fight with Cech for the goalkeeping spot"

Thibaut Courtois has said that he is now the club's number 1 goalkeeper, ahead of long-serving Czech international Petr Cech. This is not going to be taken well by Cech, who is sixth on Chelsea's all-time appearances list with 478 games, but he has not featured in any of The Blues' 3 games so far this season.

Courtois said: "At the moment I am playing and for him (Petr) maybe it is not the nicest situation but it is the decision of the board and the trainer. I am always working hard in training to be ready when I can't play or when I am not playing well but we work very well together. I think, of course the Champions League is great and something you don't want to miss.

Last year with Atlético, I played a final and I also played a final of the cup and we won against Real Madrid two years ago. As a professional and a winner you always want to play every game so we will see what the decision of the coach is. But of course, I am a professional player and I want to play every game that is possible."

This comes after fresh reports that Chelsea are in talks to give Courtois a new five-year contact deal, thought to double his current contract wage of £30,000-a-week and it will be reportedly signed after he finishes his international duties with Belgium. 

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has already said Courtois is one of the world's best young goalkeepers, and it's not surprising given his vast improvement from Genk in 2011 to a Champions League final back in May. 

This is a graphic (courtesy of Sky Sports) to compare the two goalkeeper's stats from last season's games, as Courtois was on-loan at Atlético while Cech was still the number 1 goalkeeper for Chelsea. 

So even though we know that Cech will do his best to get back into the team, who is the best man for the job? Courtois is a very good long-term investment for the club, but there will be obvious questions as to whether he is ready for the Premier League. Despite having 3 successful seasons with Atlético Madrid: winning La Liga, Copa del Rey and a Champions League runners-up medal on the way.