‘I’m happy’ – Chelsea ace opens the door to summer exit after fine start to the season

Chelsea goalkeeper Dorde Petrovic has hinted at a potential summer exit following a fine start to the 2024/25 campaign.

The 25-year-old has been in impressive form since joining RC Strasbourg on a season-long loan from Chelsea last summer after falling below Robert Sanchez in the pecking order.

Petrovic worked his way into the Chelsea first team last season, capitalising on an injury to Sanchez to establish himself as the first-choice stopper under former manager Mauricio Pochettino.

He featured 31 times across all competitions last term, keeping seven clean sheets as Chelsea finished sixth in the Premier League.

However, Enzo Maresca’s arrival marked a turning point for the Serbian stopper, with the Italian reinstating Sanchez as his preferred goalkeeper.

Maresca favours keepers who are comfortable playing out of defence, and Petrovic wasn’t the right fit for his system.

However, his loan move to Strasbourg has proven to be a masterstroke so far, and the Serbian has opened the door to a potential permanent move next summer.

“I am very happy here in Strasbourg,” Petrovic said in a pre-match press conference.

“It is true that I wanted to stay in the Premier League. But when I started working with the staff and the players, it went very well straight away.

“It is not a mistake along the way. I’m happy because I give everything for the team. I’m here to make saves.”

Petrovic has been one of Strasbourg’s standout performers since joining the club. His average Sofascore rating of 7.22 is only bettered by fellow Chelsea loanee Andrey Santos (7.51) and Dilane Bakwa (7.24).

He has kept two clean sheets in 11 league games, averaging 3.6 saves per match (66% save percentage), which ranks him in the top ten among Ligue 1 goalkeepers.

Despite Petrovic’s fine form, Chelsea may be open to a sale next summer.

He isn’t in Maresca’s long-term plans, but if he continues his current form, Chelsea will demand more than the £14m they paid to sign him in the summer of 2023.