Arsenal and Chelsea icon Petr Cech’s son signs pro contract with Premier League rival

Petr Cech is one of the most iconic names in Premier League history and will be hoping that his son Damian can do the same – albeit with one of Chelsea’s main rivals

The son of legendary former goalkeeper Petr Cech has signed his first professional contract with a Premier League club. 16-year-old Damian is also a goalkeeper and has followed his iconic Dad’s footsteps by penning a professional deal with a London side.

But instead of Chelsea or Arsenal – the two Premier League sides that Cech senior pulled his gloves on for – Damian has instead decided to take his first steps into football with Fulham.

Sharing a picture of him signing a deal with the London side alongside his parents, he wrote: “Forever grateful.” Damian was born in 2009 while Cech was playing for Chelsea.

He previously played for the Blues’ academy but has opted for professional terms with Fulham instead having signed for the club last year. Intriguingly, he also played as a netminder for the ice hockey club Guildford Phoenix’s Under-9.

Cech senior also played for the side having moved into ice hockey following the end of his football career in 2019.

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“That’s [hockey] what I wanted to do,” Cech said in 2023 in an interview with The Times. “I played a little bit but then obviously my path was in football so this is kind of like coming back to my childhood.”

“Well, I had Hasek, who is one of the best ever ice hockey goalies, an absolute legend from the Czech Republic,” Cech added. “I wanted to be like him and that was one of my attractions to ice hockey again.

Cech, 43, can also count Oxford City Stars, Chelmsford Chieftains, Belfast Giants as his ice hockey employers. Away from hockey, Cech also claimed the role as Chelsea’s technical and performance advisor in June 2019.

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But he left the club three years later following Todd Boehly’s takeover at Stamford Bridge. Asked if he could potentially return to football, he said: “It depends.

“I’m not the youngest, so it depends on my health and my motivation. But I’ve enjoyed my time here at Chelmsford because of the people and the boys in the dressing-room.

“So let’s see what will come and it depends as well on my future in terms of getting back to working in football or not. I’ll leave the door open. I will see what comes in during the summer and then I will make my decisions.”

Meanwhile, Cech is also a keen musician and regularly uploads videos of him playing the drums to YouTube.

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