Chelsea FC Goalkeepers – Thibaut Courtois or Petr Cech?

Delač has more than a passing resemblance to a movie villain, but this did not stop Chelsea picking up the promising young keeper in 2009. He has been on a number of loan spells, including the obligatory year spent playing with Vitesse and has impressed.

A big shadow over the head of Delač is that he hasn’t gained a work permit yet and so cannot play in the Premier League. Some Chelsea fans will be hoping he doesn’t ultimately suffer the same fate as Serbian centre-back Slobodan Rajković, who joined Hamburger SV in 2011 after failing to secure that elusive work permit. If reports are believed, if Delač were to play the majority of games this season for his national side, most likely the Croatian Under 21’s, he should be able to gain a work permit.

His future in the side may look bleak given the number of goalkeeping options at Chelsea’s disposal that we’ve already seen, but at 21 I think he has a long-term place in the squad. Cech will have left the club, perhaps sooner rather than later. Schwarzer is unlikely to have his contract renewed. If Delač can prove himself while out on loan, he could well be firm second choice for Chelsea behind Courtois for many years.

It’s hard to say whether ambition will cause Delač to look elsewhere if he finds himself stuck behind Courtois, but clearly he seems intent on giving a career with Chelsea a go. Rather than just accepting he can’t get a work permit and leaving for another club, he is plying his trade on loan for the time being. That’s what will happen again this season and it will be interesting to see which club takes on his services and also to see how he fares as the season progresses.