This summer saw Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois join Atletico Madrid for a second consecutive season as Petr Cech refuses to be dislodged from the Stamford Bridge sticks. However, as the 21-year-old learns his trade in La Liga, it was expected that he would return next season and command his place as number one. But French sources are now reporting that Chelsea have reached an agreement for Barclelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes, who will leave Camp Nou in the summer.
So, with Courtois’ future now up in the air, and the reports questioning whether Jose Mourinho sees Cech as the number 1 for much longer, let’s take a look at the statistics.
While Valdes and Courtois have played eight games in the Spanish topflight this season, Cech has played seven in the Premier League.
Valdes leads the way in terms of clean sheets, with four, while the other two have three. Surprisingly, he also leads the way in regards to the average number of saves per game with 2.75. Courtois has averaged 1.50 while Cech slightly lower at 1.43 – but that says a lot about the defences.
All three have a claim success of 100%, which tells you the calibre of goalkeeper we are dealing with, but Valdes better Cech’s distribution by some margin, as you’d expect playing for Barca. Valdes has a distribution success of 68%, Cech 61% and Courtois 51%.
Which of the three will be the Chelsea number one next season? Who knows, but you get the feeling the Blues’ will be safe with any of the three.