Petr Cech looking to leave Chelsea

ByGeoff Nichols|

Petr Cech looking to leave Chelsea

Petr Cech has spoken about his situation at Chelsea for the first time this season and has conceded that if he doesn’t see more playing time he will have to begin to look elsewhere for a move. The Czech goalkeeper came on as a substitute after first-choice Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois suffered a minor head injury in the weekend clash with Arsenal. However, that was Cech’s first Premier League action of the season, with his only other performance coming in the Capital One Cup victory over Bolton.

Cech is a fan favourite at the club and has made 327 appearances for Chelsea since his arrival for £7 million from French club Rennes in 2004. The situation was a similar one on that occasion, with Cech replacing Chelsea regular Carlo Cudicini in goal. It represented the start of a decade of dominance for Cech, who firmly established himself as one of the world’s best keepers, combining with consistency with spectacular saves.

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Now it is Cech who finds his position has been taken by the younger man, in the form of 22 year old Belgian keeper Thibaut Courtois. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho had to decide at the start of the season who would be the number one, and he opted for youth.

Cech has been very quiet and respectful on his view on Mourinho’s decision, but understandably he acknowledges that if he does not get more game time, he will have to move from his beloved Chelsea.

“I have not spoken to anyone, but I think they know me well enough at the club ]Chelsea] to know that the situation is definitely not the way I would imagine,” Cech explained.

“With the Euros [in 2016] and the national team in mind, there is no time for me to sit on the bench and not to play. If the situation will not start to improve for me, then I will want to solve it.”

It Is hard to imagine Mourinho will drop Courtois, who has made a solid start to life in the Premier League. Goalkeeper is one position where rotation is avoided and stability is essential. Cech, being 10 years senior to Courtois, must also realise himself that he cannot offer another 10 years at the peak of performance to Chelsea.

It is an interesting situation, as Chelsea fans will be very sad to see ‘Big Pete’ leave the club that he has served so well for a decade. The new era is being ushered in by Mourinho and he is not the manager to avoid an emotional decision and so could well let Petr Cech leave in January. One thing is for sure, there will be a host of top clubs looking to sign the Czech legend.

If you want to remember the good times, here’s a nice video of Cech’s greatest moments. There are quite a few:

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