Petr Cech will return to Chelsea this summer in a new sporting director role at the club, Sky Sports News has learnt.
The Arsenal goalkeeper, who turned 37 on Monday, announced he will retire from playing after next Wednesday’s Europa League final in Azerbaijan against his former – and future – employers at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have been without a technical director since Michael Emenalo’s resignation in November 2017, as director Marina Granovskaia has taken on the majority of his old duties since he departed the club.
It is not clear at this stage exactly what responsibilities Cech will have, but he could share some of the burden in terms of recruitment and bridging the gap between the board and the manager.
Cech remained coy on social media, reiterating that he will make a decision after the Europa League final in Baku.
“Despite the news today as I had already said to everybody before, I’ll make a decision about my future after the last game. Now my sole focus is to win the Europa League with Arsenal,” Cech tweeted.
The club have made little secret of their desire to welcome back the ‘golden generation’ which included the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Cech.
