Barcelona eye Chelsea goalkeeper

Whilst here at the Football Transfer Tavern and indeed in Barcelona, the talk may be all about the extension of the Lionel Messi and Carles Puyol deals, there is also something bubbling under the surface.

It has been claimed in both Marca and The Sun that Barcelona are casting an admiring glance over Belgian stopper Thibaut Courtois – currently on loan to Atletico Madrid from Chelsea.

Courtois has been impressing no end since his arrival in the Spanish capital playing a key role in the success of Diego Simeone’s Europa League winning side and indeed their performances in La Liga this season, which has seen the club overtake their city rivals Real to second place in La Liga.

Courtois is of course on loan from Chelsea who are allowing the youngster some vital first team experience before he takes up the number one shirt from Petr Cech and as our landlord wisely states in between a game of pool, these advances from the Catalans will not be received well with the champions of Europe, especially given the volatile relationship between the clubs in recent years.

Barcelona for their part see Courtois as a successor to current number one Victor Valdes and have been monitoring the situation with the keeper who cost Chelsea 9 million euros from Genk and believe that they have the power and the reputation to lure him to the Camp Nou.

Do you think Courtois should ditch the Blues and go to Barca? Vote in our polls below.