The transfer window has closed in England. Courtois has always been linked to a move away from Stamford Bridge but he completed his transfer to Real Madrid towards the end of the transfer window. He has been vocal about his desire to go to Madrid mainly because his children lives there and he wants to live closer to them. And the Club in the city capital( Real Madrid) are the biggest club in the world. So, there's only one club to go to as far as Courtois's concerned.

Chelsea thought they could persuade him to stay. But he was firm about his desire to leave and he skipped training to show them he has no intention of staying. I'm not and will never in support of players skipping training to force their clubs to sell them but perhaps Chelsea could have avoided the situation if they had listened to him earlier especially when you consider the fact that he has less than a year remaining on his contract.

So, it's either Chelsea sell him now or risk letting him go free next summer. Initially, it would appear that Chelsea are prepared to keep him for this season and let him go for free next season mainly because of how difficult and expensive it might be to get a replacement.

Courtois showed no intention of staying and they had to cash in on him and sold him for £35m.

Kovacic on the other hand has made his intention to leave Madrid very clear. He wants a club where he can start matches week in week out. He can't get that at Madrid and he knows that. Hence, his reason for requesting for a transfer. But the midfielder's request makes sense. At 24, he needs regular playing time if he's to realize his immense potential.

Madrid have a lot of affection for Kovacic. He has been tipped by many to replace Luka Modric at the club. Madrid however made it clear to Kovacic that they have no intention of selling him. Hence, the reason he was loaned out.

The transfer of Courtois and Kovacic are separate but each transfer facilitated the other. Madrid loaning Kovacic to Chelsea when United and a host of other clubs also showed interest is a way of persuading Chelsea to sell the Belgian goalkeeper.

In a bid to replace Courtios, Chelsea had to activate the release clause of Kepa which is in the region of £80million making him the expensive goalkeeper in the world. The price is insane but that's the transfer market for you. Even Liverpool paid around 75million euros for goalkeeper  Alisson.

Madrid got a world class goalkeeper for a modest sum of money and managed to resolve Kovacic's situation by loaning him to Chelsea.

Chelsea on the other hand too received £35m for Courtois. The price is low obviously but that's the best they probably could get for a player whose contract expires next year. They also got Kovacic, an exciting Midfield talent for a season. That's a win-win situation for both clubs.

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment.

TheFutbolJoker............