Mark Schwarzer has shockingly claimed that Petr Cech was the best goalkeeper training at Chelsea this season before Edouard Mendy arrived at the club.
The Blues signed £20million goalkeeper Mendy this summer to provide extra competition for Kepa Arrizabalaga and Willy Caballero who had shared the first-choice goalkeeper spot due to inconsistencies from the pair.
But ex-Chelsea goalkeeper Schwarzer has heard that Cech, who was named in the west Londoners' 25-man Premier League squad despite retiring in 2019, was performing better in training sessions that Kepa and Caballero.
The Australian told Optus Sports: 'From my understanding, he was better than the Chelsea keepers. But this was before Mendy arrived at the club.
'He was performing and training better than the Chelsea keepers. He just was saying he felt so good.'
Cech is one of the most successful goalkeepers in Chelsea's history, having won four Premier League titles, four FA Cups and both the Champions League and the Europa League competitions during his 11-year stay at Stamford Bridge.
The Czech Republic goalkeeper then left the Blues after falling behind Thibaut Courtois in the pecking order, joining Arsenal in 2015 where he spent four more years as a professional.
Upon retiring, the former goalkeeper was immediately hired by the Blues as a technical director at the start of the 2019-20 season when Frank Lampard was hired as head coach.
And Schwarzer, who competed alongside Cech for the goalkeeper spot at Chelsea between 2013 and 2015, believes the 38-year-old's current training performances at Stamford Bridge are making him regret retiring so soon.
Schwarzer added: 'He said had he known that after having time off he would have felt so good, he would have only had six months off and wouldn’t have retired.
"He actually believes he’s fit enough and strong enough and good enough still to play in the Premier League. I know he’s kicking the ball further than he did towards the end of his career.
'The injuries he had, the problems he had with his ankle, his calf, they were hindering his kicking game. So apparently he has no problems with that at all any more. He’s kicking the ball as far as he [ever] did.'
FaithEvans
610
This information is not needed, yes it can happen, Zidane would definitely still have a better technique than say Fede Valverde, Pirlo would certainly still do better than most of his midfielders in Juventus, but you don't have to say it, Petr Cech is younger than Willy Caballero, he basically retired cuz Arsenal weren't going to renew his contract and his family was settled in London, not because he's finished... so stop ruining Kepa's confidence, we've given him stick and he has lost his place, what more could we possibly gain by smashing his fragile confidence? He needs support!
Likedechelsea
255
Kepa to AF right now🤭
SMHellas
8
This information is not needed, yes it can happen, Zidane would definitely still have a better technique than say Fede Valverde, Pirlo would certainly still do better than most of his midfielders in Juventus, but you don't have to say it, Petr Cech is younger than Willy Caballero, he basically retired cuz Arsenal weren't going to renew his contract and his family was settled in London, not because he's finished... so stop ruining Kepa's confidence, we've given him stick and he has lost his place, what more could we possibly gain by smashing his fragile confidence? He needs support!
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The problem is Kepa was signed as a panic buy, because Real Madrid had expressed interest before they bought Courtois. So he must be good right? I don't think he's a fit for the Premier League, but he can be a good keeper. The comparison made by Schwarzer was that he's the best keeper in the squad. Keepers don't run much, it's not the same as outfield players. That's why the likes of Buffon are still playing past 40 at the top level, as did Zoff, Peter Shilton and many more. Zidane may still have the technique, Solskjaer is a better finisher than any United forward, but can they run around for more than 10 minutes before collapsing? Nope...