‘Petrovic has gentleman’s agreement for 8-figure Chelsea transfer’
Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic has a gentleman’s agreement with the club allowing him to leave this summer for a set price.
The Blues got their Club World Cup campaign off to a winning start on Monday (16 June) with a 2-0 victory over LAFC, but Serbian international Petrovic was nowhere to be seen after being left out of their travelling squad to the USA.
Enzo Maresca is after a new first-choice stopper this summer, but Chelsea’s move for AC Milan keeper Mike Maignan fell apart in recent weeks after disagreements over the transfer fee.
Petrovic spent last season on loan at the Blues’ sister club Strasbourg in Ligue 1, and his impressive performances have seen him believe he is deserving of a chance to prove himself at Stamford Bridge next term.
The 25-year-old is not set to get that chance, however, and he asked to be left out of their Club World Cup squad last week to focus on a move away, according to The Telegraph.
Petrovic can leave Chelsea if a club bids £25million for his services this summer
Football Insider revealed in April that Aston Villa, Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus were all interested in a move for Petrovic after his impressive loan in France, so he should not be short of suitors in the coming months as he seeks a Chelsea exit.
He has not departed as yet though, and The Athletic have now reported that there is a gentleman’s agreement between Chelsea and the 25-year-old that he can leave if a club bids £25million (€30m) to sign him this summer.
They also state that Petrovic wants to be assured of a starting role somewhere, with four to five clubs from the Premier League and elsewhere in Europe expressing an interest in his signature.
He can not rule out a loan return to Strasbourg either, according to The Athletic, if he is unable to find a club that is willing to pay that figure to the Blues.
Chelsea should have given Petrovic a chance to be number one
Football Insider verdict
Robert Sanchez struggled throughout the last Chelsea campaign and committed a series of high-profile errors, so it does come as a surprise to see Maresca happy to risk going into another season with the Spaniard as his main goalkeeper for yet another season.
| Appearances | Goals conceded | Clean sheets |
| 31 | 44 | 7 |
It remains to be seen whether France international Maignan does make the move to Stamford Bridge, after recent reports of Petrovic potentially being used as a makeweight in a deal with Milan, but nothing has materialised as yet and Sanchez was handed a starting berth ahead of Filip Jorgensen against LAFC on Monday.
Numerous Chelsea fans had called for Petrovic to be their number one goalkeeper next season in the midst of his loan spell at Strasbourg, and the performances that saw him keep 10 clean sheets in 31 appearances and help Liam Rosenior’s side to a seventh-placed finish should have put him in contention this summer.
He has also previously shone as the Blues’ main keeper, after being given a chance as number one under Mauricio Pochettino in 2023/24, and so it does feel like a missed chance for Chelsea to have a steady goalkeeper if they do sell him for £25m ahead of 2025/26.