Vertonghen bigs up international teammate.
Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen has heaped praise on Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Vertonghen and Courtois both played the full 90 minutes of Belgium’s 1-0 defeat to Argentina in the quarter-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup on Saturday.
Despite being on the losing side, Courtois produced an impressive display, which was epitomised by a late one-on-one save to deny Lionel Messi.
Courtois signed for Chelsea from Genk in June 2011, but he has yet to play for the Stamford Bridge side, having spent the past three seasons out on loan at Atletico Madrid.
While at Atletico, Courtois, who is still only 22 years old, made 111 La Liga appearances.
He helped Atletico win La Liga last season and also reach the final of the Champions League, where they lost to city rivals Real Madrid.
With Petr Cech currently out injured, Courtois is likely to make his Chelsea debut in August.
Vertonghen says that his international teammate is already world class and that he has plenty of time to improve.
“At his age, he’s already one of the best goalkeepers in the world,” The Guardian quotes Vertonghen as saying.
“He has 15 more years to improve, too, and I hope he can still improve. He works hard every training session and wants to work.
“That’s the right spirit. To be honest I don’t know how he can improve his game, but he will find a way. That’s good for us.”
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