"Do Hazard and I encourage each other to sign? Yes. He will say 'if you sign, I will sign"

Talk of a move to Real Madrid has intensified in recent months for both Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois, but the Belgian pair look set to remain in west London, the goalkeeper revealed.

Saying a deal to keep him at the club is edging closer, Courtois insisted Chelsea must keep hold of his compatriot and said the pair had spoken about extending their current contracts.

"Eden is irreplaceable," Courtois told the 'Evening Standard'. "With the money he will raise, you can buy five players but none of them will be like Eden."

"It would be like Barcelona losing Lionel Messi or Real Madrid losing Cristiano Ronaldo," the 25-year-old added. "If you excel, there will always be teams interested in signing the biggest players. But that's why if Chelsea have ambition to be the best club in the world, these kind of players have to stay."

The goalkeeper is expected to double his weekly £100,000 wages and fans will be relieved that both Courtois and Antonio Conte are working to secure a fresh deal for Hazard. "Do Eden and I encourage each other to sign? Yes. He will say "if you sign, I will sign" and I say the same to him!" said Courtois.