We need the depth. No idea if he is any good but we shall see. 

Let’s hope he becomes a legend like our last Serbian keeper, the great Petar Borota!!

I look forward to him standing on the halfway line.

Edited August 22, 20232 yr by Snedger

I am hoping he is sort of Ivanovic, Azpilicueta type of signing. Made in the dark and to be fair no one is interested in the transfer anyway. But ends up being a gem.

We are rich Everton. 

Never heard of him, can’t be worse than what we currently have though.. can he?

id have just taken Navas for a season at least you know what you’re going to get 

2 hours ago, Simmo_SLIx said:

Logically cannot be worse than what we already have.

Are you sure? #famouslastwords

Don't know anything about him TBH but meant to be a good shot stopper though.

We'll have to wait and see I suppose but lately our shot to save ratio from goalkeepers hasn't been great so any improvement on that can't be a bad thing.

I love these type of signings, an unknown player for cheap. Abit like Ivanovic.

I don’t know why but I’ve got a really good feeling about this one. Hopefully he starts against Wimbledon!

On 22/08/2023 at 03:13, Zeta said:

Who?

Ah I see. Couple of years in the Serbian Div 3, and then MLS. I'm sure he'll be the quality we need to challenge Sanchez...

I just don't understand wtf we are doing with recruitment. Spend billions on midfielders, and then go into the season with 2 League One goalkeepers.

I don`t know if I should laugh or cry about this ... The goalkeeper situation is the biggest head scratcher at the moment.

We sign Sanchez (which looks questionable at best so far).

Then loan out Kepa without taking a fee for him.

Then go and spend money on this guy. WHAT is the actual point of it? We could have just kept Kepa and Mendy if we aren`t replacing them with better keepers anyway.

I have absolutely no clue wtf this has accomplished? We spent a lot of money for goalkeepers we know aren`t good enough.

On 22/08/2023 at 04:29, Adamrb said:

Weird not to just grab a freebie like Navas for a season and reassess in summer

Or de Gea, they are both likely much better GKs than this guy. Makes no f**king sense.

Brad Friedel had some good things to say about him and supposedly his stats were the best in the US last season but that is the most I can claim to know about him. 

I have a better feeling about him than I did when we got Sanchez, but it does leave a very glaring unknown for us going into this season.

Ticks a lot of boxes for a no 2 keeper with potential to challenge for the main shirt. Only question I have, if he is the best keeper in the MLS  and is relatively young, why did we spend close on the same amount on Slonina?

7 minutes ago, charierre said:

Ticks a lot of boxes for a no 2 keeper with potential to challenge for the main shirt. Only question I have, if he is the best keeper in the MLS  and is relatively young, why did we spend close on the same amount on Slonina?

Does seem strange, although Slonina is still a few years younger than Djordje and probably purchased with a view to being integrated in few years time or more, based on development. 

Petrovic, as you said, fills a need for now and is likely a bit further on in development.

Probably does cause an issue further down the line if they begin to fulfil their potential but one that works for us financially.

24 minutes ago, charierre said:

Ticks a lot of boxes for a no 2 keeper with potential to challenge for the main shirt. Only question I have, if he is the best keeper in the MLS  and is relatively young, why did we spend close on the same amount on Slonina?

Because not everyone is going to make it. I wanted to believe there was some actual planning in terms of stocking piling talent, but it's evident only the best of the best will make it here.  Clearlake are relying on the inflation of the market continuing to rise to make a substantial profit on our assets. Worst case scenario if Slonina doesn't reach the Courtois levels our recruitment team thinks he can (or if the likes of Sanchez and Petrovic develop greater), we could realistically sell him at a major profit considering we only purchased him for £12.3 million. 

On a promising note, MLS enthusiasts are claiming even considering the price this is a very good deal for Chelsea. Petrovic outperformed his expected goals (shots on target) and his reflexes and shot stopping is considered the best in the MLS. He's among the best in claiming crosses and his distribution, albeit limited, shows definite signs of improvement.  

Edited August 23, 20232 yr by Sconnie Blue

2 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Because not everyone is going to make it. I wanted to believe there was some actual planning in terms of stocking piling talent, but it's evident only the best of the best will make it here.  Clearlake are relying on the inflation of the market continuing to rise to make a substantial profit on our assets. Worst case scenario if Slonina doesn't reach the Courtois levels our recruitment team thinks he can (or if the likes of Sanchez and Petrovic develop greater), we could realistically sell him at a major profit considering we only purchased him for £12.3 million. 

On a promising note, MLS enthusiasts are claiming even considering the price this is a very good deal for Chelsea. Petrovic outperformed his expected goals (shots on target) and his reflexes and shot stopping is considered the best in the MLS. He's among the best in claiming crosses and his distribution, albeit limited, shows definite signs of improvement.  

The question is if Petrovic is the best and both are similar price, why would you buy the second best initially?  I admittedly haven’t seen a lot of Slonina but where he has ended up on loan suggests his potential.
 

As for the other bit of not everyone will make it, I’ve seen more next big thing than I care to remember in over 55 years of watching football, most won’t get to the level we expect unless we drop a level.

Edited August 23, 20232 yr by charierre

Another thread to move !

This signing is now confirmed on the club web site - 7 year contract, option for an 8th ... yadda yadda 🙂 

Never heard of this guy before but I do hope he turns out to be a diamond in the rough... it's been a while since we've had one.

Also, the fact that our current No. 1 is someone who lost his spot at Brighton doesn't exactly instil confidence. I know it's early and Sanchez might turn out to be the better of the two but he needs some serious competition to keep him on his toes.

1 minute ago, Girish said:

Never heard of this guy before but I do hope he turns out to be a diamond in the rough... it's been a while since we've had one.

Also, the fact that our current No. 1 is someone who lost his spot at Brighton doesn't exactly instil confidence. I know it's early and Sanchez might turn out to be the better of the two but he needs some serious competition to keep him on his toes.

Brighton's current #1, who usurped Sanchez's role, lost his place on the weekend for no particularly good reason. Two Brighton wins, a single goal conceded each time. De Zerbi and goalkeepers are like my dog and the feral cats in the area: destined to end in tears. The dog's tears.

Good start 🫡

Already prefer him to Sanchez.

"Chelsea Chelsea's No.1......................................"

Too early to say as he's had so little to do in these games.

We will probably have to sub him on for shootouts when he doesn't start though, despite saving his last one Sanchez's record with penalties is very bad.

Deserves a run of games. Early days, but looking good so far ...

I just hope they don't try and shoe-horn Sanchez back in when he's fit again just because he's Roberts' favourite ... 

Come on Petrovic, build on this performance. It’s your chance to become no 1 keeper.

Great save to win the shootout, I know he hasn't actually made a save in 90 minutes yet but the Serbian Buffon is definitely going to be a club legend.

Need to see more of him in action but I like him. Definitely more composed with the ball at his feet. 
 

Fantastic save for the final penalty and I think he went the right way for all of them by one.