Athletic: 6 teams interested in Chelsea player; Blues will hope to get far more than £25m now

Last week, strong links between Sunderland and Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic emerged.

Journalist Sacha Tavolieri reported that the newly promoted side were “close to finalising” the signing of the goalkeeper from Chelsea for “around €25m.”

However just a day later, Peter Rutzler (who covers the Black Cats specifically) poured cold water on the idea that a deal was almost done, saying that there had been “contact” between the two clubs, but that there had been “no formal offer yet.”

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Cautious take on Petrovic deal completion percentage proves correct

Djordje Petrovic playing for Chelsea. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

With a week now having passed, it seems pretty obvious that the cautious take was the correct one. There’s been no further talk of the deal, and if anything it seems like other options may be opening up.

The Athletic’s deal sheet today claims that there’s “strong competition [for Sunderland] from at least five other teams.”

They also note that the gentleman’s agreement in place between Petrovic and Chelsea means that he can leave for £25m. The €25m noted by Tavolieri did seem a little cheap, although this isn’t much better.

More interested teams means more interesting money for Chelsea

With so many teams interested, we can only assume that this means there’s going to be a little bidding war. This will slow down the conclusion of a deal but hopefully also mean a higher final price for the stopper, who had a superb season in Ligue 1 with Strasbourg last time out and should be interesting for any team in any top league looking for a new goalkeeper.

Plenty of people would like him to stay at Chelsea – if he’s going to go, we had better be well compensated.