Chelsea sound out Championship goalkeeper as Courtois replacement

Chelsea’s frantic search for Thibaut Courtois’ replacement appears to be coming to a head with Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland emerging as the favourite, claims The Independent.

Courtois has failed to report to Chelsea training for the last two days in a bid to force through a move to Madrid in order to reconnect with his children, who live in Spain.

Madrid have reached an agreement with Chelsea for the transfer of Courtois but the Premier League giants will only sign off on a deal if they can find a replacement before Thursday’s deadline.

Chelsea earmarked Brazil international Alisson as their first choice target at the start of the summer only to miss out on the 25-year-old to Liverpool last month.

Maurizio Sarri’s side have now been left in an awful position with time running out and very few world-class options available.

Chelsea have now turned their attention to Stoke goalkeeper Butland and have even started negotiations with the Potters, who were relegated to the Championship last season.

The west London outfit expect to pay an initial £20m fee for the England international, but that deal could rise to as much as £30m with add-ons.

Butland started in Stoke’s opening weekend defeat to Leeds at the weekend but is now expected to secure a move to Stamford Bridge before Thursday’s deadline.

The 25-year-old made more saves than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League last season (142), but was England’s No.2 at the 2018 World Cup.