Eyebrows were raised when Chelsea omitted Djordje Petrovic from their Club World Cup squad after a fantastic loan spell with RC Strasbourg.
However, The Telegraph reporter Matt Law has clarified that the Serbian shot-stopper made the decision not to jet off to the United States with the rest of the team.
Petrovic, who joined Chelsea for £13.5 million in 2023, wants to focus on his long-term future, and his withdrawal from the squad opens up the possibility of a summer move away from West London.
The Serbian keeper wants assurances that he will be Chelsea’s first-choice moving forward, but at the moment, the Blues cannot oblige.
Manager Enzo Maresca is a huge fan of Robert Sanchez despite his penchant for dropping the ball.
The Spanish keeper made the most errors leading to a goal in the Premier League last season (five), yet he finished with the best save percentage (74%).
For all his mistakes, Sanchez kept 10 clean sheets in the Premier League – just three behind Nottingham Forest’s Matz Sels and Arsenal’s David Raya (13 each).
Sanchez’s late-season resurgence has given Chelsea and Maresca plenty to think about, but it also puts them in a tight spot regarding Petrovic’s future.
The Serb has reinvented himself at Strasbourg and deserves to be first choice. Despite dropping out of the Club World Cup squad, there’s no bad blood between Petrovic and Chelsea.
The club understands his stance, and both sides will spend the coming weeks trying to find common ground, although a summer exit is more likely.
But Chelsea will be silly to let Petrovic walk after his remarkable campaign at Strasbourg. While he kept as many clean sheets as Sanchez, his 7.91 goals prevented dwarfs Sanchez’s 2.09.
Petrovic’s ability on the ball was another key reason why he was shipped out on loan, but he has since refined his passing skills.
He averaged 42.6% accurate long passes last season, significantly more than Sanchez’s 32.2.
He has become far better than Sanchez, who sent shivers down the spine of the Chelsea faithful whenever he got on the ball, given his history of making schoolboy errors.
Petrovic has done enough to be number one, so it makes sense that he’d be willing to get his wishes elsewhere if Chelsea cannot offer any guarantees.
He wouldn’t be short on potential suitors either. West Ham United and Bayer Leverkusen have been linked, while Strasbourg are keen to retain his services.