Djordje Petrovic has been surprised by how his first season at Chelsea has gone.
Chelsea have quite a big squad, or at least compared to most other Premier League clubs, but everyone got an opportunity under Mauricio Pochettino.
That is partly down to the number of injuries the Blues have had to deal with.
Having the plethora of options they have in central defence and at full-back, for example, has come in handy.
Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah and Benoit Badiashile are just a few names at Chelsea who can play at centre-back, while Marc Cucurella, Ben Chilwell, Malo Gusto and captain Reece James are the natural options for the left-back and right-back positions.
Djordje Petrovic discusses his season
Further back, Petrovic and Robert Sanchez have been Chelsea’s two first-team goalkeepers this season.
Sanchez started the campaign as the No.1, but an injury saw him drop out of the side and Petrovic come in.
The 24-year-old, who joined Chelsea from New England Revolution in a £14m deal last summer, never looked back and became the team’s first-choice shot-stopper, much to his surprise.
“For me personally this season I wouldn’t say amazing but I didn’t expect to play this many games,” Petrovic was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. “I can improve and I will next season and I want to be a more complete goalkeeper.
“There were games when I could have done a better job but in the end I can be happy and that gives me confidence for next season as well.”
The 24-year-old, who joined Chelsea from New England Revolution in a £14m deal last summer, never looked back and became the team’s first-choice shot-stopper, much to his surprise.
“For me personally this season I wouldn’t say amazing but I didn’t expect to play this many games,” Petrovic was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. “I can improve and I will next season and I want to be a more complete goalkeeper.
“There were games when I could have done a better job but in the end I can be happy and that gives me confidence for next season as well.”
It is understandable that the Serbian is surprised that he has featured in all of those games.
He arrived at Stamford Bridge to provide cover for Sanchez. But the Spaniard’s injury problems this term opened up a pathway into the first team for him and he grasped the opportunity with both hands.
