Chelsea are reportedly lining up a swoop for Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic in order to replace outgoing keeper Petr Cech.
With only 12 months left in his contract, it would seem likely that Stoke would want to cash in on the 27-year-old, allowing promising England U21 stopper Jack Butland a consistent spot in the starting lineup.
Aston Villa, who are one of a list of clubs interested in the Bosnia-Herzegovina international, recently had a £10 million bid rejected, with Chelsea leading the race to secure the ‘keeper’s services.
Begovic first joined the Potters from Portsmouth in 2010, and became a first-team regular in the following season, starting 28 games and conceding 32 goals, as his side finished 13th in the Premier League.
Since then, he has seen himself emerge as on of the league’s most impressive performers, with his heroics helping endear himself among Stoke City supporters. He even scored a goal in the 2013/14 season, when his world record 97.5 yard kick took a wicked bounce that lifted it over Southampton ‘keeper Artur Boruc’s head and into the back of the net.
Speculation about his future with Stoke first started when manager Mark Hughes decided to relegate him to the bench for three matches after a mistake he made against Sunderland, and has only intensified since.
There is little question, though, that should Begovic opt for Stamford Bridge over the Britannia Stadium, that he would be resigning himself to even less play-time than he received in a Stoke City shirt.
