Almost Done – Chelsea On The VERGE Of Signing £75,000-A-Week World Cup Star

 It has not yet been 96 hours since Chelsea fans waved goodbye to a legend in the form of Petr Cech ,who after 11 years of stellar service finally parted ways with the club to move to hated rivals Arsenal , and Jose Mourinho appears to have found a replacement. The Blues boss is reportedly close to landing 28-year-old Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic as an understudy to the magnificent first choice Thibaut Courtois , in a deal that is allegedly worth £8 million.

The Bosnian International has been one of the league’s best keepers for the past few seasons , with his outstanding displays between the sticks for the Potters previously having garnered interest from Premier League giants Arsenal , Liverpool and Manchester United. However , the chance to move to a top club is now upon the 28-year-old , albeit with a caveat that he will have to be the number two behind the outstanding Thibaut Courtois , who was responsible for dislodging Cech from the first team last season.

However , according to reports in the Mirror , that will stop Begovic from completing a move to the Premier League champions , as he is prepared to knuckle down and fight for a starting spot with the Belgian youngster , who is already touted as one of the top keepers in the world. Since joining Stoke in 2010, Begovic has gone on to establish himself as one of the  top keepers in the Division , and kept 7 clean sheets in 35 league appearances for the Potters last season compared to 12 for Courtois.

Finding a number two goalkeeper who is both able enough to replace your first choice without having any significant impact on the quality of defence , and is content to sit on the bench and wait for his opportunities is deemed a very tricky business.

Top quality keepers prepared to be second choice and fight for opportunities are a very rare commodity in the world of football , as Cech aptly proved with his move to Arsenal in search of first team football. However , the masterful negotiator in Jose Mourinho finally looks to have solved this conundrum.

Chelsea may have lost a long-term favorite in the form of Cech , but they finally look to have replaced him with as good an option as they could’ve hoped for.