Petr Cech is set on telling Chelsea he wants to move to Arsenal.
The 33-year-old became Chelsea’s second-choice goalkeeper after falling behind Thibaut Courtois the pecking order last season.
At Arsenal, Cech would be looking for more starts – a goal he could achieve, considering that between David Ospina and Wojciech Szczesny, the Gunners lack a strong leader in goal.
Cech has also been linked to Manchester United, Liverpool, and Paris Saint-Germain, but Arsene Wenger has shown the most serious interest in the Czech Republic international.
Due to Cech’s relationship with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich after 11 years of service to the club, it is believed that the owner will let him choose where he goes next. However, Jose Mourinho has expressed a wish to keep Cech or at least prevent him from moving to another English club:
“One thing is José Mourinho and another is Mr Abramovich, and another thing is the board, because the board is a little bit of me and a little bit of other people,” Mourinho said. “If it was me, if it was my decision, the decision is Petr to stay. That’s it. It would be my decision for Petr to stay. Even against his will? Yes….
“For me, decision number one, Petr will stay. After that, second point, to go but not in England. The option I don’t want is for him to go to an English club. But, I repeat, I am just the manager and he means so much for this club and what he did in this club, I think he deserves everything from this club. If the club decision is different to mine I will accept it.”
It is believed that Cech will choose to move to Arsenal in order to avoid uprooting his family from their lives in London.
Cech could cost up to £10 million considering he still has one year left on his contract with Chelsea.
