Chelsea have been busy this summer filling out important positions with players who are expected to be immediate contributors to the team. They have also identified players for the future, with some even going on loan to Todd Boehly’s Strasbourg in Ligue 1. One area Chelsea still needs to fulfill is the backup keeper position. With Kepa on loan at Real Madrid for the season, someone needs to help backup newcomer Robert Sanchez. Former Fulham keeper Marcus Bettinelli is expected to be the third-stringer for Mauricio Pochettino.
Chelsea have identified one keeper they’d love to sign, but there are conflicting bid reports.
First broken by Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian, Chelsea has reportedly bid £15m for Djordje Petrovic of MLS side New England Revolution. The Athletic’s Tom Bogert, who covers MLS, reports that Chelsea has made an opening bid but that it will likely only take around £11.8m for New England to say yes to a Petrovic bid. There may be some “lost in conversion” going on here as £11.8m is $15m USD.
The 23-year-old keeper quickly has become the best keeper in Major League Soccer. He joined the New England Revolution in 2022 from Serbian side Cukaricki who Petrovic had been with since his academy days. Petrovic is also capped for Serbia at the senior international level, and a move to England may help him make future squads for his home country.
Should Petrovic make the move to Stamford Bridge, he will be the second keeper from MLS to join the Blues in just over a year. 2004-born Gabriel Slonina signed with Chelsea last summer from the Chicago Fire and has since been sent on loan to Belgium. Tom Bogert reports that should Petrovic’s fee break the £11.8m mark; it will be the highest-ever fee for an MLS keeper, breaking the record held by Slonina. It could also be the second time the New England Revolution cash-in big on their keeper, as they only sent Matt Turner to Arsenal last summer.
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