Cech may look for Chelsea exit if Courtois becomes new No 1, claims former goalkeeper
Petr Cech could seek a move away from Chelsea in the January transfer window if he loses his starting XI spot to young goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, former Premier League stopper Nigel Martyn has told talkSPORT.
The 22-year-old was handed his league debut for the London club on Monday night in the Blues' season opener against Burnley.
He had little to do against the top flight newcomers, but did pull off one notable stretched save in a 3-1 victory for Jose Mourinho's men.
Much was made of the club’s selection headache ahead of the campaign, with manager Mourinho insisting he is ‘comfortable’ with the ‘great problem’ having welcomed Courtois back from three impressive loan spells with Atletico Madrid to compete with Cech for the number one shirt.
Courtois’ inclusion against the Clarets could spell the end of his 32-year-old team-mate’s ten-year reign as Chelsea’s first choice stopper, and Martyn - who made over 600 appearances in the top flight - believes Cech may look elsewhere to find more regular game time if he continues to be overlooked.
“It’s a difficult situation at Chelsea, keeping both goalkeepers happy will be very hard,” Martyn told Kick Off.
“Once a manger makes that decision there is not a lot you can do.
“Cech has been a great servant for Chelsea, he’s a Chelsea man so maybe he will be a little bit more patient because of the time he’s been there.
“But I don’t see him sitting on the bench for more than a few months. I think by the time it gets close to the [January] transfer window he’ll already be thinking about whether he should be looking for a move away.
“He’ll just want to be playing games. He’s 32, he could still play around eight seasons in Chelsea’s first team, so it’s not as though he’s coming to the end of his career.
“He’s still got a long way to go and he’ll just want to play at the highest level he can.
“But obviously Courtois is still only 22, he’s got an awfully long way to go in his own career and Chelsea are perhaps thinking he is the way to go moving forward.”