Chelsea ace mentored by Petr Cech was longest-serving player but never made an appearance

A forgotten Chelsea player was the longest-serving member of their squad at the time of his departure but never made a single competitive appearance. Matej Delac, who was mentored by Blues legend Petr Cech, spent eight years at Stamford Bridge without ever making his debut.

Delac joined Chelsea as a teenage prospect in 2010 and was tipped for big things after impressing in his native Croatia. He was called up to their senior international squad as a back-up goalkeeper during his time at Inter Zapresic before arriving in west London.

For all the promise he showed, Delac failed to make the grade at Chelsea and spent the vast majority of his time out on loan. Work permit issues contributed to him being sent to eight different clubs in eight different countries before leaving permanently in 2018.

After joining Danish club AC Horsens, Delac reflected on the bizarre nature of his Chelsea spell which saw him become the longest-serving player in their squad despite never playing a single competitive minute.

“It is very interesting to write and read about it,” he told Goal. “Maybe it will be strange to not come back to Chelsea in the summer for pre-season, in between loans. In eight years, I think I had seven pre-seasons with the club.

“It will be a little bit strange, but it was the life I had. It was a good eight years, you can always say that things could have gone better or worse, but I will always say that I am happy with these eight years.”

Delac also opened up on his relationship with Cech, who he credited as one of his biggest influences after helping to arrange one of his loan moves away from Stamford Bridge.

“Petr really helped me a lot, especially the first two years when I arrived,” added Delac. “Everything was new to me and it was not easy to adapt to English football when you come from a lesser league like in Croatia, so he helped me with advice and everything.

“He even found me a loan club in the Czech Republic. It was he who found me the club. He helped me a lot. I am still in contact with him. He is a very important guy in my career.”

Delac is now 32 and remains on the books at Horsens, having made over 160 appearances during his six-year spell at the club. He has played every minute of the current season, keeping two clean sheets in 10 league matches.