All indications are that Chelsea FC are very close to wrapping up the signing of the Bosnia and Herzegovina international as a replacement for Petr A?ech, who completed his move to Arsenal FC earlier this summer
Chelsea FC manager Jos Mourinho seemingly has his heart set on Stoke City stopper Asmir Begovi to fill the void left by the club’s departing legend, and it appears that the Portuguese will get his man before too long.
There have been two clear indications in the past couple of days that this move is imminent: Chelsea FC midfielder . Marco van Ginkel joined the Potters on loan – widely reported by English media to be a part of the agreement to bring Begovi to Stamford Bridge – and veteran Premier League goalkeeper Shay Given also completed a move to Mark Hughes’ side, presumably as a back-up for England U21 international Jack Butland.
Any pending doubts were cleared by Stoke boss and former Chelsea FC striker Mark Hughes yesterday, with the Welshman confirming that Begovi was close to signing for the Premier League champions.
Hughes is quoted by talkSPORT as saying, “I haven’t had an update today but my understanding is that he’s likely to travel to Chelsea and that will be concluded.”
The Potters’ manager also backed the Bosnian to push Belgian no.1 Thibaut Courtois for a place in the Chelsea FC starting line-up. “I would imagine, having worked with Asmir, that he’ll back his ability and he would think he will challenge and get game time there, or he wouldn’t have gone there,” said the former Manchester City manager.
“He’s a confident goalkeeper and a very accomplished goalkeeper so he’ll push whoever’s in the number one very, very hard.”
That is probably exactly why Mourinho wanted Begovi in the first place. Not only has he been amongst the best and most consistent keepers in the league the past few seasons, but at 28 years old, he is also fairly young for goalkeeper.
What makes this potential signing even better is the fact that, unlike Petr A?ech, Asmir Begovi would count as a home-grown player, leaving Mourinho an extra spot for a non-HG outfield player.
Quite simply, Chelsea FC could not possibly have found a better replacement for the Czech international, whose arrival should restore that sense of security that the Blues had last season with two extremely capable goalkeepers amongst their ranks.
Begovic hasn’t travelled on Stoke’s pre-season tour. Expect Chelsea to announce his signing in the next day or two.
a Charlie Skillen (@charlieskillen) July 11, 2015
With reports that Begovi is not part of the Stoke City squad that has travelled to Singapore to compete in the pre-season Barclays Asia trophy and with Chelsea FC set to depart on their pre-season tour of North America this week, the official announcement of the keeper’s capture cannot be too far way.