Chelsea
Premier League • England
Chelsea submit £15m bid for ‘really talented’ star who Liverpool were ‘keen’ to sign this summer
New England Revolution goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic
Chelsea have upped their pursuit of a new goalkeeper as they have submitted a £15m bid for a player Liverpool considered signing this summer.
Mauricio Pochettino has done well to manoeuvre the hectic transfer window at Stamford Bridge this summer as his squad is starting to take shape.
As Kepa Arrizabalaga has recently gone out on loan to Real Madrid, Chelsea are now in the market for a new backup goalkeeper.
The club did sign Robert Sanchez from Brighton this summer, but the 25-year-old is in need of some competition between the sticks.
Lucas Bergstrom was Chelsea’s backup goalkeeper on the opening day of the new season, but the 20-year-old is still in the early stages of his career.
With Pochettino seemingly keen to strengthen this department, Chelsea have now set their sights on New England Revolution goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.
According to Jacob Steinberg, Chelsea have submitted an opening bid of around £15m for the 23-year-old which could be enough to swing a deal.
The goalkeeper is under contract until 2025, but the club does hold the option to extend his deal by a further year.
Earlier in the transfer window, Liverpool registered an interest in the shot-stopper as it was looking likely that Caoimhin Kelleher could depart.
The Reds were said to be ‘keen’ on the goalkeeper, but a deal didn’t materialise in the end. Fresh after completing deals for Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo, Chelsea certainly know a thing or two about snapping up a Liverpool target.
Petrovic has an excellent reputation
Chelsea’s fresh recruitment policy has seen them targeting the best upcoming talents from around the globe and Petrovic would tick plenty of boxes.
At just 23, he is still in the early stages of his career and could develop into Chelsea’s new number one over the following years to come.
The goalkeeper boasts a save percentage of 80.6% in MLS this season, which is higher than any other goalkeeper in the league.
Given his pedigree, it’s no wonder plenty of top European clubs have been interested. Along with Liverpool, Man Utd have also been linked with the New England goalkeeper this year.
Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Matt Turner spent some time playing with Petrovic at New England and the USA international tipped his former teammate for a big career in an interview last year.
“What I’ve seen from him is that he’s really talented,” Turner told reporters. “He’s way more talented than I was at his age, you know? He’s taller than me. He’s athletic.”
“But you know, he’s got things that he’s going to have to work on if he wants to be a consistent player for this team, as we all do.
“So, I think that for him, [if] he works on a few small details in his game, he’s going to be a really good player for this organization.”