adminChelsea are in talks to sign Asmir Begovic from Stoke as a replacement for Petr Cech as the club’s second choice goalkeeper. Cech has told Chelsea that he wants to join Arsenal this summer and is confident that the Premier League champions will sanction a transfer across London.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho wants to line up a high quality goalkeeper to provide genuine competition for Thibaut Courtois before the club allow Cech to leave.
Blues bosses are understood to be “pushing hard” to sign Begovic, who has a year left on his Stoke contract and has so far rejected the club’s attempts to agree a new deal.
Begovic, 27, would have to be persuaded to give up regular Premier League starts and work as understudy to Courtois, but Chelsea hope to attract him with a lucrative salary package and the promise of a similar number of appearances as made by Cech last season.
Cech played 16 times for Chelsea in all competitions last term but the 33-year-old wants to leave for a No1 role, with Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain also linked with summer bids.
The Czech international wants to move to Arsenal as the Gunners target a Premier League title challenge next season to build on back-to-back FA Cup triumphs.
Cech is keen to stay in London to avoid uprooting his family, with his two children settled at school in the capital.
He has just one year remaining on his contract but Chelsea are expected to demand a transfer fee of around €20 million to sell the former Rennes man to a direct rival.
Mourinho has spoken of his reluctance to let Cech join a Premier League club but claims he is powerless, with the final decision over the goalkeeper’s future to be made by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. — Goal
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