Bournemouth have agreed a £25million deal to sign goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic from Chelsea.
The Serbia international has been granted permission to undergo a medical next week with the south-coast club ahead of agreeing a five-year contract.
The Athletic reported on Thursday that Bournemouth were in advanced talks with Chelsea over the signing of the 25-year-old goalkeeper.
Bournemouth have been seeking a new No 1 following Kepa Arrizabalaga’s return to parent club Chelsea and subsequent sale to Arsenal.
Petrovic, who spent 2024-25 on loan at Strasbourg, had been given permission to find himself a new club, and had a gentleman’s agreement that he could depart Stamford Bridge for £25m — as reported in The Athletic’s Transfer DealSheet.
Petrovic wanted assurance as a regular starter, but Chelsea could not promise that with Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen featuring prominently during 2024-25.
The Serbia international spent the recent campaign on loan at Strasbourg, the Ligue 1 club which is also owned by BlueCo, and played 31 times, helping his side to a seventh-place finish and qualification for the Conference League. He was voted as the supporters’ player of the season.
He has played 31 times since signing for Chelsea from MLS side New England Revolution, deputising upon Sanchez’s injury during 2023-24. He was left out of Enzo Maresca’s Club World Cup squad which has reached the final against Paris Saint-Germain, set to be played on July 13 at the MetLife Stadium.
Petrovic was one of several out-of-favour players that returned to training at Chelsea who are not in their Club World Cup squad and spent last season out on loan, joining the likes of Joao Felix, Ben Chilwell and Renato Veiga at Cobham.
He played 86 times for Serbian side FK Cukaricki before moving to New England in 2022, and earned seven international caps after making his senior international debut in 2021.
Neto returned to Bournemouth from his loan at Arsenal this summer, while The Athletic reported on Thursday that Everton are interested in signing Mark Travers as back-up to Jordan Pickford.
Petrovic exit makes sense for Chelsea
Analysis by Chelsea correspondent Liam Twomey
The arc of Petrovic’s career at Chelsea is confusing for outsiders.
Many supporters ended 2023-24 with greater faith in Petrovic than they had in Robert Sanchez, who was dropped for the Serb by Mauricio Pochettino in December 2023 after a string of damaging errors.
But the arrival of Enzo Maresca saw Sanchez restored to No 1 status and Petrovic sent on loan to Strasbourg, where he further bolstered his reputation with an impressive season in Ligue 1.
It is less a question of quality than it is of style; Petrovic was simply never regarded as a good fit to play at the base of a team which demands its goalkeeper to function as an outfielder in possession, passing with courage under pressure, consistency of technique and clarity of vision.
Even after his season at Strasbourg, Petrovic could never shake the perception that he is a traditional goalkeeper who relishes the ball in his hands, but not at his feet. This meant he was always more likely to be a saleable asset for Chelsea than a credible long-term alternative to Sanchez.
The fee that Bournemouth are paying represents a healthy profit on the fee Chelsea paid to sign him from New England Revolution in August 2023 and that, in the eyes of Clearlake Capital, makes him an unequivocal success.
(Sathiri Kelpa/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)