Bournemouth have agreed a £25m fee to sign Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic. Softfootball can confirm that Petrovic will be the second goalkeeper from Chelsea to play for Bournemouth in two straight seasons as Kepa was at the same club on loan last term.
The 25-year-old will have a medical with the club next week and is expected to sign a five-year deal. Petrovic becomes Bournemouth’s second summer signing, following the £14m addition of French left-back Adrien Truffert from Rennes.
According to the BBC, Petrovic was keen to leave Stamford Bridge to become a regular starter and refused to play in the Club World Cup as he was deemed unfit for the Blues by manager Enzo Maresca.
The Serbia international replaces Kepa Arrizabalaga, who spent last season with Bournemouth on loan from Chelsea, but joined Arsenal permanently at the start of July when his £5m release clause was triggered.
Sunderland, Monaco and Strasbourg, where he enjoyed a successful loan spell last term and won their player of the season award were all interested in the Serbian. Strasbourg are also owned by the same Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital ownership as Chelsea, who bought Petrovic for £14m from New England Revolution in 2023.
With Kepa and Petrovic gone, Robert Sanchez, Filip Jorgensen and summer signing Mike Penders are Chelsea men between sticks for next season and are in the United States, where Chelsea face Paris St-Germain in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup.
Petrovic will now join Noni Madueke who is set to join Arsenal as the only two senior team exits from Chelsea although more exits are expected in coming days with Joao Felix, Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku all lined to be offloaded.
Earlier reports from Softfootball revealed that the Blues are demanding a high amount of money for Nicolas Jackson who is now surplus to requirement after the signing of Liam Delap from Ipswich Town and Joao Pedro from Brighton.
Chelsea has placed a huge price tag on their striker, Nicolas Jackson, as they intend to ship him off the Stamford Bridge this season.
But the £100m may seem to be “unrealistic” for the striker, whose form has dropped significantly ever since he joined the Blues from Villareal two seasons ago.
