The career of Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois could have turned out very differently if he hadn't been struggling in school, Hoffenheim's former head of scouting has revealed, as the danger of being held back a year played a major role in Chelsea signing him as a teenager.
Courtois and Koen Casteels – now at Wolfsburg – came up together in Belgium at Genk's renowned academy, with both players causing a stir around Europe owing to the fact that two special goalkeeping talents were coming through at the same time.