Chelsea can attract significant transfer interest to one particular player this summer in a “gentleman agreement” on a potential departure.
Djordje Petrovic has returned to the parent club following Lone Spell at Strasbourg last season, but he is not with the Blues team at the Club World Cup, which won Fluminense in tonight’s semi-finals.
The Serbian goalkeeper enjoys two regular top flight football campaigns in the UK and France, but he faces an uncertain future as many suitors queue up to potentially capitalize on it.
Petrovich has attracted a lot of attention in the “gentleman’s agreement” with Chelsea
In the latest transfer deal seat athletic released Tuesday morning, Simon Johnson provided an update on where he is now at his 25-year-old.
Petrovic has been targeted by Sunderland following his promotion to the Premier League and is also interested from at least five other clubs.
Chelsea has signed a gentleman’s contract with the goalkeeper and can depart for a fee of £25 million.
Should Maresca give Petrovic a chance at Chelsea next season?
Petrovic enjoyed a long-term spell in Blues’ Start XI under Mauricio Pockettino in 2023/24, but whether he can drive Robert Sanchez away in the coming months is another matter.
According to FBREF, the Serbs actually had a save percentage last season than Chelsea’s current number one (78.9% to 76.4%), with much better returns on pass completions (80.4% to 69.7%) and XG minus goals after XG (+9.9 to +1.7).
His goal ratio per 90 minutes is greater than Philip Jorgensen (1.23-1.5), suggesting that, similar to his save rate (the latter recorded 71.4%), perhaps, should give Enzo Maresca a fair crack in the 25-year-old whip.
However, if it became clear that Petrovic would struggle to drive away Sanchez (which could be extremely difficult to help the Blues win the Club World Cup), Serbia International could not accuse him of identifying a permanent starting berth elsewhere.
If any of his numerous suitors put forward a proposal that matches or exceeds the aforementioned £25 million figure, it appears that Chelsea will not lack Serb offers this summer.