'He reminds me of Petr!' Ex-Chelsea star likens Djordje Petrovic to Cech

James Shearman

• Updated: 22 Feb 2024 20:21 GMT
• 3 min read

Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic has been likened to club legend Petr Cech.

Petrovic signed for The Blues from New England Revolution for an initial fee of £12.5 million last summer.

He started the season behind Robert Sanchez but an injury to the Spaniard gave him his chance.

The 24-year-old has made the most of his opportunity and should remain Mauricio Pochettino's number one for the remainder of the campaign.

Former Chelsea goalkeeper Kevin Hitchcock has even gone as far as to say that Petrovic is similar to Cech.

"Djordje does remind me of Petr, actually," Hitchock told The Telegraph. "Petr was a fantastic goalkeeper and he won a lot of games for Chelsea.

"Without a shadow of a doubt, Djordje can be a really top goalkeeper for a long time as well.”

"I’m not surprised at all that he’s adapted so well. He adapted very quickly to America and the MLS, and he has this calming influence.

"He’s very calm with the ball at his feet and he’s very calm in every situation - he never gets flustered. That’s a good attribute to be a top goalkeeper.”

Petr Cech on Djordje Petrovic

Cech, himself, recently commented on Petrovic's impressive start to life in West London.

Speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, Cech said: "I think that he’s a good athlete when you see him moving around the goal.

"He has fast feet and he has a really good push when you see his interventions, his reactions. When he pushes, he gets really far, so he seems like he has really strong legs. He has a very good reaction, we can see he stays on his feet and moves well.

"For my liking, sometimes he is too deep and that’s the philosophy you have. You drop deep pretty much on the goal-line and therefore you might have a little bit more time for the save, but you open the goal."