Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois says he is confident the club is improving after a shock result on the opening day of the season against Burnley. Antonio Conte’s side had a poor pre-season campaign and lost 3-2 at home to Burnley during the first game of their Premier League title defence, having two men sent off. The result brought about a lot of bad press, and there were many doubters who wrote off the Blues almost instantly – dooming the club to a similar season to that of two years ago.

However, as most reputable pundits predicted, Chelsea have bounced back with impressive wins against Tottenham and Everton. They now look like the side that won the league last season again, and fans will be excited to begin their Champions League campaign next month. With the transfer window shutting on Thursday night, there is also a certain amount of excitement about potential incoming players too.

Goalkeeper Courtois was as shocked as anybody about the result against Burnley, but the Belgian knows just how strong the squad around him is. Speaking to Sky Sports, the stopper outlined three potential threats to Chelsea’s Premier League crown, and discussed his fellow compatriot Eden Hazard.

“Manchester United have started very well; City have bought in well and I think Liverpool showed [against Arsenal] they are up for the task this season,” said Courtois.

“The Premier League is always hard and we will try to be there until the last day and see if we can retain it.”

Eden Hazard hasn’t featured for the Blues at all since undergoing ankle surgery this summer. He has often been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge, with Real Madrid being big admirers of the forward. However Courtois says he is looking forward to the star being back in the squad at Chelsea, but warns it won’t be easy to break into the starting XI with how well the team is playing recently.

“You will always miss a player like Eden but we have handled it very well and it will be hard for him to come back into the team,” he added. “He is someone who has done so many amazing things for us already.”

“We are building a strong team at Chelsea and were champions last season and hopefully we can do the same this year.”