Chelsea moved quickly to sign their Petr Cech replacement, beating Man United to land Begovic. Will he compete with Courtois for the starting job?
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Chelsea have secured their replacement stopper, winning the bidding war for Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic much to the dismay of Man United.
According to the Express, Begovic will sign with the Blues this week despite a late entry into the race by Manchester United. Chelsea will reportedly pay £8 million to Stoke and send the Potters either winger Victor Moses or striker Patrick Bamford on a loan.
One of the greatest goalkeepers Chelsea ever had and with the second highest number of clean sheets in Premier League history, Cech became expendable with the rise of Thibaut Courtois, who recorded 12 clean sheets this past season (5th in the league) and the Blues made the tough call to sell him to bitter-rival Arsenal.
Begovic was the Stoke City Player of the Year in 2013 and was voted the Stoke City Players’ Player of the Year in 2013 and 2014. He holds the Guinness World Record for “longest scored goal in football” thanks to a 2013 shot he made from his end of the pitch against Southampton that traveled 97.5 yards and past Artur Boruc for the record-setting score.
Man United was eager to make a move for Begovic with the future of star goalkeeper David de Gea in doubt.
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