Chelsea plan full assessment of goalkeepers as two contenders emerge for No 1 spot

Telegraph

31-03-2025

Djordje Petrovic and highly-rated teenager Mike Penders will be given the chance to prove themselves at Chelsea this summer with the club preparing a full assessment of their goalkeepers.
Petrovic has spent the season on loan at Strasbourg, having been deemed the wrong profile of goalkeeper for head coach Enzo Maresca, while Penders will officially join Chelsea from Genk at the end of this campaign.
Both goalkeepers will be at Chelsea in time for the Club World Cup and could travel with Maresca's squad to the United States in a bid to win a first-team place for next season.
The current plan at Chelsea is for the club to assess Petrovic and Penders, along with this season's first-team duo of Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen, this summer before deciding on the goalkeeping roster for next season.
Goalkeeper has proved to be a problem position for Chelsea this term, with Maresca dropping both Sanchez and Jorgensen for making mistakes.
"Sanchez was all over the place!" 😲
Matt Doherty capitalises on a mistake from the Chelsea keeper! 🐺 pic.twitter.com/stV8EnyjfU
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 20, 2025
But Petrovic, who made a promising start to his Chelsea career under former head coach Mauricio Pochettino, and Penders have been in excellent form this season.
Crucially, Petrovic has shown a big improvement with his feet at Strasbourg and has played in a style that is far closer to that of Maresca at Chelsea.
It remains to be seen whether or not that proves to be enough to change Maresca's mind, but the intention is for Petrovic to be given another chance to impress.
Penders is rated one of the best goalkeeping talents in Europe and, like Petrovic, the 19-year-old will be given the chance to show he is ready to be one of Chelsea's first-team goalkeepers for next season.
Chelsea are not currently expecting to sign a new first-team goalkeeper in the summer, although that could change if a tempting or unmissable opportunity arises.
The more likely scenario is that a first-choice pair for next season emerges from Sanchez, Jorgensen, Petrovic and Penders, with one of those four goalkeepers then going on loan, in what is considered to be an open race at this stage.
That would leave a big doubt over the Chelsea future of one of the four goalkeepers, but Penders certainly won't be sold and 22-year-old Jorgensen is unlikely to be dispensed with permanently so quickly.
Strasbourg are sixth in the Ligue 1 table, just a point off fourth place that would secure qualification into the Champions League qualifying rounds.
Petrovic has been key to Strasbourg's excellent form, with Chelsea keeping a close eye on his performances. Co-sporting director Laurence Stewart watched last Friday night's victory over Lyon.
Apart from conceding just 29 goals in 24 games in all competitions this season, 25-year-old Petrovic has proved himself to be good with his feet, with a passing accuracy of 79.5 per cent and mainly looking for short passes.
According to statistics provided by Opta, in 12 games for Genk in the Belgian league, Penders has made 333 successful passes with an accuracy of 78 per cent.
Another player who will be given a chance to impress at Chelsea after spending the season on loan at Strasbourg is midfielder Andrey Santos.
But Chelsea may be prevented from sending any more players on loan to their French club in the summer, if Strasbourg and Chelsea both qualify for the same European competition.
Should that happen, then Chelsea's owners will pause their involvement in Strasbourg to allow both clubs to compete in the same competition. The two clubs would not be able to transfer players to one another or use a shared scouting database until the end date of the trust.
It is understood that Chelsea and Strasbourg have already done much of the background work in case that scenario plays out and both clubs are confident it would not impact their long-term plans and goals.
Chelsea have already agreed a deal to sign defender Mamadou Sarr from Strasbourg and it is believed that transfer would be allowed to go through. But Chelsea would have to find a new club for midfielder Mathis Amougou, who is currently expected to join Strasbourg on a season-long loan.
It was a former Chelsea head coach, Antonio Conte, who once joked that you can afford to make a mistake over your wife, but not your goalkeeper or striker.
Chelsea were unfortunate that Nicolas Jackson suffered an injury on transfer deadline day, but the striker is on course to return for Thursday's night's Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur.
Many would argue that Maresca made an error over his goalkeepers, however, that could prove costly in Chelsea's bid to qualify for the Champions League.
Statistics provided by Opta suggest that Petrovic, who has spent the season on loan at Strasbourg, has been Chelsea's best goalkeeper during this campaign.
That, of course, does not account for the big difference in standard between the Premier League and Ligue 1, but Petrovic has kept more clean sheets than Sanchez and Jorgensen, has made no errors leading to goals and has made more successful passes.
A season on loan at Strasbourg has undoubtedly been beneficial to Petrovic, who may well return to Chelsea a far better fit for Maresca's style of play.
Under Pochettino, he rarely had to venture a couple of yards off his goal-line, whereas Maresca likes his goalkeepers to take residence on the edge of their penalty areas.
Petrovic has learned to do that under Liam Rosenior in Ligue 1, while Penders has already shown he can do it at Genk.
The youngster has a passing accuracy of 78 per cent in the Belgian league and, like Petrovic, is yet to make an error leading to a goal.
The only current doubt over Penders is whether such a young goalkeeper can make the step up straight to the Premier League, but he will be given the chance to show he can this summer.
What is certain is that Chelsea's best-performing goalkeeper must be doing it at Stamford Bridge, rather than elsewhere, next season.