When Chelsea signed Thibaut Courtois the then 19-year-old in the summer of 2011 from Racing Genk on a five year deal and immediately sent him on loan to Atletico Madrid to get some first team experience. The youngster impressed in his debut season keeping 15 clean sheets and Atletico brought him back for another season.

The Belgian has enjoyed another stunning season for Atletico, already keeping 14 clean sheets, and recently broke the record for the longest time elapsed without conceding a goal at the Vicente Calderon by keeping the ball out of the net for 820 minutes consecutively.

He conceded on Sunday night when Atletico lost 1-0 at home to Real Sociedad and cross-town rivals Real Madrid leapfrogged them into second position in La Liga for the first time this season. The stopper was asked about his record by the Spanish national daily sports newspaper Marca and said, “I’m happy but disappointed by the defeat. It’s a record for the whole team, not just for me.”

He was also asked which club will he be at come next season and insisted he would like to stay in Madrid. He said, “Everyone knows that I’m very comfortable here. It gives me great joy that the fans give me love and I have it for them too. I love the life, people, colleagues I have here. The decision is not only mine but also Chelsea and Atletico. If I can, I want to stay here.”

This would come as a major blow to Chelsea who want to increase competition regarding the place of current number one Petr Cech. Henrique Hilario hasn’t started a single game this season and second choice keeper, Ross Turnbull, has failed to impress during his three appearances.

Courtois has been in excellent form for Atletico Madrid and is currently battling Simon Mignolet for the number 1 jersey for the Belgian national team for next year’s World Cup. He is reportedly going to decline to return Chelsea as a back-up for Cech in the summer and would prefer to stay at Atletico to continue his development.