CECH OFFERED ROLE AT CHELSEA UPON RETIREMENT

CECH OFFERED ROLE AT CHELSEA UPON RETIREMENT

Chelsea are ready to offer Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech a role with them at the end of the season when he retires from football, Goal understands.

The 36-year-old announced that he will hang up his gloves at the end of the season after a glorious career which included 11 years at Chelsea – a period that was the most successful in the club’s history.

The decision to bring back Cech would follow their strategy of wanting to recognise the contributions of some of their top former players by offering them roles when their playing careers come to an end.

The Gunners goalkeeper has yet to make a concrete plan over his next step after he leaves the north Londoners, preferring to focus on helping Unai Emery’s side win a trophy in his final season.

He could, though, be offered roles ranging from a coach to an executive, or an ambassadorial role.

The former Czech Republic international has a personal relationship with Chelsea’s owner Roman Abramovich, with Cech having recently moved house to a location that’s closer to Chelsea’s training ground than Arsenal’s.

He would be following a host of ex-Chelsea players in having worked with the club after retirement, with John Terry, Frank Lampard and Jody Morris having all coached the club’s youngsters in recent years.

They went onto secure positions with Aston Villa and Derby County, with Lampard having taken the manager’s job at Pride Park.

Joe Cole has also returned to the Blues’ Cobham training ground to coach youngsters across all age groups, helping out the likes of Eddie Newton, Paulo Ferreira and Tore Andre Flo.

Former Chelsea striker Gianfranco Zola, meanwhile, is part of Maurizio Sarri’s first-team backroom staff, alongside the likes of Carlo Cudicini and Hilario.