Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has admitted he and fellow Belgian Eden Hazard have encouraged each other to sign new contracts with the club.
The pair’s respective futures have been in doubt recently, with rumours of Real Madrid interest in signing both players having surfaced amid reports of stalls in new contract talks.
Courtois’ contract with the club runs out in 2019, but the 25-year-old Belgium goalkeeper confirmed he is in talks with Chelsea over a new deal and expects compatriot Hazard’s future to be wrapped up next.
“I’m happy at Chelsea and a deal is close,” Courtois told the Evening Standard.
“Has it been a distraction? Not for me. I’m just calm and relaxed because I’m tied to Chelsea.
“Despite the rumours and everything, I am focused on Chelsea and I’m happy here.
“Do Eden and I encourage each other to sign? Yes. He will say ‘if you sign, I will sign’ and I say the same to him.
“I think we are both happy at Chelsea, we both have a good part to play. We have been champions twice in the four seasons I have been here and can have our peak years together at Chelsea.”
Both Courtois and Hazard, 26, played key parts in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Wednesday, with the forward winning and scoring a penalty in the second half to make it 1-1.
Meanwhile, Chelsea had Courtois to thank for still being in the game at that stage as the goalkeeper pulled off fantastic saves against Alexis Sanchez and Alexandre Lacazette.
The 2-2 draw with Arsenal ended a run of four consecutive clean sheets for Courtois in the Premier League and was just the fourth time the Belgian had conceded more than one goal in a match.
While Hazard often gets a lot of the plaudits for Chelsea’s performances this season, they are fortunate to have someone like Courtois in goal.
Conceding just 16 goals so far, Chelsea have the joint-second best defence in the league and with Courtois averaging 2.57 saves per goal, the Belgian is as important to the side as any of their attackers.
Courtois also has an average of 1.64 saves per game, having been successful with 93% of his attempted claims over the season.