Thibaut Courtois displaced Cech as Mourinho’s number one goalie this season after three hugely successful years at Atletico Madrid. The Belgium has shown us exactly why Mourinho chose him over Cech with some inspired goalkeeping which has propelled Chelsea to the top of the Premier League table.

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is widely accepted as the world’s best goalkeeper currently and he is also shortlisted for the 2014 Ballon d’Or award after winning the World Cup with Germany and numerous trophies with his club.

However, Gary Neville believes Courtois will go on to surpass Neuer and become the best short-stopper in world football, according to an article in Metro. Neville said, “Courtois has the talent to become the best goalkeeper in the world in the next 12 to 18 months. I believe he will go past Neuer. The player of the season so far, for me, is not Sergio Aguero but Chelsea’s new No1, who has brought a smile to my face. And not many goalkeepers make me smile.”

He added, “In the Premier League, the ultimate test of physicality, it was almost a hallelujah moment to see how he dealt with crosses and set-pieces. My stance when a ball travels through the air into the box is that there has to be an excellent reason why it does not end up belonging to the keeper.”

“Watch Courtois’ starting positions when the ball is crossed. As he steps out he has already anticipated where the crosser is aiming it and is standing there already when it arrives. It is a fantastic ability. I will always argue for catching over punching and Courtois destroys the myth that punching is always a better option.”