Chelsea have been given a boost in their hopes of tying Thibaut Courtois to a new contract after Real Madrid took a step back in their pursuit of the goalkeeper, according to the London Evening Standard.
The newspaper claim on their website that Los Blancos have cooled their interest in the 25-year-old Belgian shot stopper, which will help the Blues in convincing him to commit to a new deal.
The news comes just days after Courtois’ agent revealed that he had been holding regular talks with Real Madrid and that there had been discussions over the availability of the goalkeeper, as reported by the Telegraph.
Courtois rejected a contract offer made back in May, and is said to be looking to double his current wage to a huge £200,000-a-week, something which Chelsea are yet to agree to.
Last season’s golden glove winner has two years remaining on his current contract and has firmly been the Blues’ first choice between the sticks at Stamford Bridge since he finished a three year loan spell at Atletico Madrid.
He appeared in 36 of the club’s 38 Premier League games during the last campaign, conceding just 28 goals and keeping 16 clean sheets.
In total he has turned out for Chelsea 108 times, while he has also made 50 appearances for Belgium having made his international debut back in 2011.