ESPN report that Chelsea are eyeing up RB Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi as a replacement for Thibaut Courtois if the Belgian international leaves Stamford Bridge for Real Madrid in the summer.

What's the word?

PSG are also said to be interested in the services of Courtois, who is stalling on a new deal with the Blues, who are facing the prospect of missing out on the Champions League again this season.

That has seen Chelsea take the first step towards finding a replacement and Gulacsi, who turns out for the upwardly-mobile German outfit, is already on the radar.

The Hungarian is valued at £4.05m by Transfermarkt and should cost significantly less than the figure that the Blues would recoup for Courtois, who is one of the world's best.

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Give Gulacsi a chance

Some Chelsea fans may hope for a bigger name than Gulacsi to arrive if Courtois does go in the summer but, looking a little deeper, a move for him may prove to be better than expected.

Leipzig have been steadily improving in recent years - almost in a similar way to how Chelsea did when Roman Abramovich first came in - but have had to get used to being an unpopular side.

That brings about its own pressure, so Gulacsi should be well equipped to deal with the demands of moving to a bigger club, who will be looking to recover from a difficult season this time around.

Critics might point to the stopper's unremarkable record during his first spell in England, where he played for Liverpool and Hull but that does mean he is used to life in this country.

The re-emergence of Mo Salah and Kevin de Bruyne this season has shown that one unsuccessful period in England need not be any reason to write off a player and Gulacsi could well be another; admittedly in a less remarkable fashion.