New Chelsea star Petrovic takes club legend’s shirt number after Premier League rule BLOCKED his dream choice
NEW Chelsea signing Djordje Petrovic will wear the number 28 made iconic by club legend Cesar Azpilicueta after his first choice was denied.
The Blues signed Robert Sanchez for £25million from Brighton earlier in the window after letting Edouard Mendy and Kepa Arrizabalaga go.
And in need of a back up to Sanchez, Chelsea confirmed a deal for Serbian stopper Petrovic.
He has signed a seven-year deal and takes the No28 left behind by former captain Azpilicueta.
But that was only after the Premier League denied him the chance of wearing the No99 he had at New England Revolution in the MLS.
Petrovic said: “I’m very happy to wear number 28 and I know it means a lot at this club.
“I asked for number 99 originally but I was told it was too high for the Premier League.
“I saw what was available after that and I liked the look of the No.28 jersey.”
Renato Sanches suffered a similar fate in 2017 when he signed on loan for Swansea from Bayern Munich.
His request to wear No85 was rejected, meaning he took No35 instead.
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Petrovic is in line to make his debut TONIGHT in the EFL Cup against AFC Wimbledon at Stamford Bridge.
After signing, he said: “It’s so nice here! Everything here is set up to win, to learn and to achieve great things at the very top level.
“I’m so happy to be at Chelsea and I’m really excited to get started at this club.
“It’s a big step for me and it’s always been a dream of mine to sign for one of the biggest clubs in the world and today I have achieved that goal. I’m so happy!
“Playing in the Premier League is something I’m really looking forward to doing and I hope to learn many things here at Chelsea. I can’t wait to meet everyone and play at Stamford Bridge.”