One of the weirder pieces of news to come out of the squad registrations around Europe over the past couple of weeks was Chelsea’s decision to include Petr Čech in their Champions League and Premier League groups.
The former goalkeeper retired from football at the end of the 2018-19 season and has since moved on to become an advisor at the Stamford Bridge side, playing a key role in convincing some of this summer’s signings to join.
That being said, he remains an active presence on the training pitch, and rather than register a young goalkeeper, the club decided to place his name, with his consent of course, should anything happen to both Kepa Arrizabalaga or Édouard Mendy over the course of the campaign.
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He said: “It’s true that it would have been a professional error to do this if I wasn’t at Premier League level, but that’s not the way we work here. I know I’m 100% ready to help if needs be. I’m fit, and with the two months of training, I’ve seen I have the same quality.
“Furthermore, I rested for a year without playing football. It really gave me energy, my body recovered after playing 20 years as a professional. If the circumstances put me on the pitch, I’m ready”.
There will be a hope at Chelsea, after spending money on Mendy over the summer, never have to call their former goalkeeper to action, but the fans who might have been worried can now sleep peacefully at night.
