Thibaut Courtois Watch

"In the case of Chelsea, I think sincerely that the team doctor did a correct examination."

"She (Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro) came to a conclusion that he could go on, but she kept an eye on him and from the moment he didn't feel well - and that can happen in the case of concussion - they took again the right decision to take him off."

"The doctor of Chelsea did well, I think. She asked me the questions she needed to ask and I could repeat immediately so I was feeling well and didn’t have to come off."

"I didn’t feel I was knocked out but I was hit. I didn’t have a headache or anything, but after a few minutes I felt worse and worse."

"Then I started to feel a little dizzy and I couldn’t see the ball anymore, and there was a little blood coming from my ear. Because I saw trouble, I went off."

"Thibaut's progress hasn't surprised me. He has performed fantastically, when you see what he has already achieved at his age - I was already 23 when I got into Ajax's first squad."

"You have to admire him because he has convinced Jose Mourinho to pick him above Petr Cech — it must have been a difficult decision to push a legend like Cech aside."

"Is he already the best in the world, like some say in Belgium? They say that too easily nowadays, don't you think? In my period the Dutch also thought I was the best in the world."

"The most important thing is that Courtois keeps on performing on a consistent, high level. He's on the right track."

"His career is going 'crescendo', going upwards, but he has some aspects in which he still can make progress."

"One is his coaching on the pitch for instance. His composure is excellent, but there's a difference between shouting and coaching. Shouting is pretending, coaching is all about helping your team."

Kick's predicted Chelsea 14/15 Line Up three years ago:

“There was no plan set in stone when I arrived, but it was about playing in the future, and dependent upon development. The first two years at Atlético had gone well and, in 2013, Chelsea had wanted me back but I wasn’t 100% sure. I knew a third year in Spain would maybe be a chance to do something special. We did that by winning La Liga and reaching the Champions League final.”

“After that, it felt the right moment to go to Chelsea. The manager had called me just once, earlier this year, to give his impression about the season ahead. He was talking about this campaign, saying how he saw things for all the team. He thought we’d have a strong side and wanted me to be a part of that. That was the gist: he hoped I’d come back.”

“Working for him now, it is easy to see why his sides have that fighting mentality. He motivates you. If the coach on the sidelines is not that strong, transmitting the kind of spirit he has, players won’t always handle it well. Life becomes difficult. But, with Mourinho, everything is good. He knows when to be among his players, as ‘one of us’ making jokes as a friend, and when to be strong and distant, even severe. That’s how it has to be to get the team sharp. Simeone did that, also, in his own way. He was an ex-player so he knew how we ticked.”

“If you look at us individually, this team at Chelsea is stronger than that side at Atlético last season. But what was important was to work hard for each other and to be selfless: a unit; run for one another; recover one another’s mistakes; give everything you can.”

“This side is also doing that, which is maybe why we’re top of the league. Not only do we have the individuals, but we also have the team ethic. That fighting mentality. At Liverpool we trailed but won and that’s not easy at a place like that. Other games, when we’ve been struggling, we kept on playing and always came out with something.”

“On the day I took my original medical here, Petr came to say hello and welcome me, just like Drogba and John [Terry]. They made the effort. We train really well together now, talking a lot about things that can happen in a game. It’s a nice relationship. I understand that, maybe, he’s not happy he doesn’t play a lot and that’s normal. I would be the same. But we get on well. At Atlético, the No2s would not always speak to me. It wasn’t jealousy, more frustration, but it meant we didn’t get on well. That’s a pity because, normally, the goalkeepers are just alone working together. It’s not like that here.”

“I’d watch Edwin van der Sar and try and steal things with my eyes from how he played, because he wasn’t all muscles and was a similar build to me. But Petr was another I’d look up to, someone I wanted to emulate.”

“I don’t feel responsible for all the team, but I am responsible for protecting my goal. With what I’ve already achieved in my career – winning trophies and playing in finals, important matches against Real Madrid and Barcelona, winning the Europa League and the Super Cup, and in the Champions League – sometimes you’ve earned the right to say something.”

“I’m not saying I’m the leader, but I feel I can say something if it will improve the team. At Chelsea we have JT, a great leader, as well as players like Drogba. In the dressing room I’ll leave the shouting to them. Maybe that will change in the future but, for now, I’m just new at this club.”

"Courtois has the talent to become the best goalkeeper in the world in the next 12 to 18 months."

"I believe he will go past Neuer. The player of the season so far, for me, is not Sergio Aguero but Chelsea’s new No1, who has brought a smile to my face. And not many goalkeepers make me smile."

"In the Premier League, the ultimate test of physicality, it was almost a hallelujah moment to see how he dealt with crosses and set-pieces."

"My stance when a ball travels through the air into the box is that there has to be an excellent reason why it does not end up belonging to the keeper."

"Watch Courtois’ starting positions when the ball is crossed. As he steps out he has already anticipated where the crosser is aiming it and is standing there already when it arrives."

"It is a fantastic ability. I will always argue for catching over punching and Courtois destroys the myth that punching is always a better option."

"That's the most important, that we are still leaders and from the next game on, we will fight to keep that bonus up and make the gap bigger."

"There are only difficult games in the Premier League and we know that. The next game is in the Champions League at home and then against Hull, we have to win in front of our fans."

"I can have an even better 2015 if I win the two trophies not yet in my collection: the Champions League and the Premier League. Chelsea are capable of doing it."

"Outside of the World Cup, my best memory of 2014 was the Spanish title, won the last day at Barcelona. Everyone thought that we would lose the title at the Camp Nou but we hung on to it. It was the best moment of my life, my career."

"My other wish for 2015 is not to be injured and continue to get better."

"Nobody is perfect and don't forget I am only 22. Every day at training, I have to continue to work very hard. It is the only way to get better. I will not be at my best till I am 26 or 27."

"I have played a lot of important matches. Every one of these matches gave me experience so I was better for the next one. This is the way I am going to try to be even better in 2015."

"In a word, no - I don't live for individual titles."

It is true that to win the Ballon D'Or is the dream of every footballer. But what I want above all is to in team trophies. If that happens, then I know I have the chance to get individual recognition."

"Neuer the best goalkeeper in the world? I think he gets more attention due to his daring dribbling."