One of Major League Soccer's emerging prospects who has had his talent hailed by an Arsenal star could land himself a dream switch to Manchester United this summer.
New England Revolution goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic has caught the eye in the past year with a string of strong outings for the MLS club after signing from boyhood Serbian club Cukaricki. The 23-year-old - who has played 40 times for his current employers, keeping 13 clean sheets - is attracting interest from Premier League sides including Manchester United, according to the Manchester Evening News.
Having only signed for his current employers last April, however, it would not be a major surprise to see the US franchise play hardball over the promising stopper in the coming months. With the two-time Serbia international currently under contract until 2025, the Revs are under no discernible pressure to cash in on the highly-rated star just yet.
Given that Petrovic is now eligible for a work permit as a result of his international experience, the prospect is now potentially finding himself in demand at Old Trafford. With uncertainty surrounding the future of long serving star David De Gea, who is in limbo due to his contract having expired, and Dean Henderson, it could well be that the Red Devils turn to the Serbian to provide competition between the sticks.
Furthering manager Erik ten Hag's woes in regards to this area of the pitch, back up option Jack Butland has also departed the club, while Tom Heaton could also move on in search of game time. In short, the 20-time English champions require a solution and Petrovic could well provide that.
Having first broken through at Cukariki, he appeared in the Europa Conference League on two occasions before his move stateside among 85 other outings. Brought in as a replacement for outbound Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner, the 6ft 4in colossus soon was able to make a name for himself in Boston.
Having made kept six clean sheets in his first 16 appearances in the league, he was nominated for a host of individual prizes before taking home the MLS Save of the Year award. To prove his impact in the US even further, he was also named second in the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year vote.
The strength of his showings have not been lost on the man he replaced at the New England Revolution either, with Arsenal man Turner himself having expressed his admiration for the stopper. He said: "[From] what I’ve seen from him is that he’s really talented. He’s way more talented than I was at his age, you know? He’s taller than me. He’s athletic.”
On top of this, his current coach Bruce Arena - widely considered to be the greatest boss in MLS history with five MLS Cups to his name - has also waxed lyrical about Petrovic's calming influence on his teammates in front of him. He stated previously: "He plays with a lot of confidence and he gives the guys in front of him a lot of confidence.
Tipping him for future success, the former LA Galaxy coach added: "I’ll tell you this, our other goalkeeper is going to be very good. [Petrovic] is going to be a good one. We are looking forward to seeing him play as well."
