Chelsea FCa s hopes of singing Stoke City keeper Asmir Begovic as replacement for Arsenal-bound Petr Cech, seems to have taken a setback, with winger Victor Moses reluctant to move on a swap deal.
Although the West Londoners have not made a formal offer yet, Stoke have been preparing for a bid from Chelsea FC, for the Bosnian keeper.
According to the Daily Telegraph, Stoke have been planning to sign Moses on a permanent deal, after the winger impressed, while being on loan, last season. Moses had scored four goals from 23 appearances for Stoke, last season, before being hit by a hamstring injury, which side-lined him.
The Nigerian international has been out of favour at Stamford Bridge, ever since Mourinho came back for his second spell as Chelsea FC manager, going out on loan to Liverpool in 2013/14 and to Stoke in 2014/15.
However, according to The Guardian . , Moses is said to be reluctant to sign permanently for The Potters a something that could put Chelseaa s efforts to replace Cech with Begovic in jeopardy.
Begovic, who celebrated his 28th birthday last Saturday, has one year left on his contract with Stoke, and is currently valued at A?8 million.
However, with Stoke looking for a Moses-plus-cash deal, in return for the keeper, the whole ordeal could have cost Chelsea much less. Also, the club would have been able to offload an unwanted player off their books.
But Mosesa reluctance means that the London-based club might have to go for a straight-forward cash-for-player deal, to land Begovic, as Cecha s replacement, as the lattera s move to Arsenal looks imminent.
Cech, who has been a key part of the Chelsea defence, for around a decade, is now having to play second-fiddle to Thibaut Courtois, at the Stamford Bridge, and is said to be very close to a transfer to cross-town rivals Arsenal, as he is in search of more playing-time.
Cech, who has also reportedly had offers from top clubs like PSG, is said to be reluctant to move from London, where his family resides, and Arsenal FC looked like the only option left for the 33-year-old. The 6a 5a Czech international is set to become Arsenala s highest-paid goalkeeper, with a wage of A?100,000.
However, none of the deals in this merry-go-round of transfers has happened yet, and it would be interesting to see what transpires, as the clubs look to build for the upcoming 2015/16 football season.