New England's stellar keeper draws interest from Premier League teams
When New England star goalie Matt Turner signed a contract with Arsenal last season, many Revolution fans voiced their disapproval.
Turner's replacement — young, unheralded Serbian Djordje Petrovic — seemed like a clear downgrade from the American keeper. In April 2022, the Revolution signed him from SuperLiga club FK Čukarički.
Ten games into the 2023 MLS season, however, the Revolution is first in the East, and Petrovic is playing so well that Man United and Liverpool are showing interest. Petrovic is the key to New England's success and is already considered one of the best signings in MLS history.
On Saturday, New England faced Cincinnati, its biggest challenger in the East. It was a high-energy clash between the first and second teams in the conference. Petrovic's penalty-saving heroics were the highlights of the game, a 1-1 tie.
What's wild about saves like this is that they're common for Petrovic. This was his fifth penalty save in the MLS in less than a year playing in the league. It's the fastest any goalie in MLS has achieved that milestone.
But Petrovic's shot-stopping skills aren't limited to penalty kicks. The data show that since his MLS debut in June 2022, Petrovic should have conceded 51 goals. His actual concessions are just 35.
That's 16 expected goals that Petrovic has prevented. No one else in MLS can touch him on that statistic; the next-best over-performer has stopped five.
Petrovic may be a pleasant surprise to many fans, but to New England coach Bruce Arena, he was a sure thing from the start.
"He was one of the easiest players we've ever brought in because I couldn't have spent more than three to five minutes watching him on tape and thinking he could be a real good one," Arena said. "We proceeded very quickly to try and sign him."
Arena's gut reaction has paid off in spades. With Petrovic between the sticks, New England looks set to shake off its poor 2022 season and stroll back into the playoffs.
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