Can Courtois Usurp Cech As Chelsea’s Number One Goalkeeper?

Can Courtois Usurp Cech As Chelsea’s Number One Goalkeeper?

Petr Cech arrived at Stamford Bridge as a 22-year-old in 2004 and was supposed to be an understudy to then number one Chelsea keeper Carlo Cudicini. It’s a similar situation for Courtois, who arrives at Stamford Bridge with a glowing reputation but in terms of goalkeeping experience, Cech his light years ahead of him. Despite not having the experience of the Czech keeper, relatively speaking Courtois still has plenty of experience in the form of winning La Liga, the Copa dey Rel, UEFA Super League and the Europa League plus stopping his country to the World Cup quarter-finals.

Cech was able to usurp Cudicini as the Blues’ first-choice short-stopper and Cudicini was forever relegated to the bench from then on. The same fate might await Cech, whose position is reversed and he is now the experienced goalie trying to stave off competition from his understudy.

Many fans see Courtois being handed the number one jersey ahead of Cech with the argument being he would have otherwise been sold to Atletico on a permanent basis. However, Cech has apparently given a warning to Mourinho by publicly stating he is not prepared to play second fiddle to Courtois.

Who do you think will Mourinho choose as his number one goalkeeper for next season and can the boss find a way of keeping both men happy? It looks like a tall order to me.