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Chelsea FC have announced the signing of Asmir Begovic from Stoke City on their club’s website today. The official figure has not been mentioned, however, according to The Guardian, £8m was the fee paid by the London club for the custodian and Marco Van Ginkel was also part of the deal.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina stopper has signed a four-year contract with Chelsea and is the side’s second signing of the transfer window after Radamel Falcao signed on a season-long loan with the club. Begovic will wear the No.1 jersey left vacant by Petr Cech, while Thibaut Courtois will continue wearing his existing No.13 shirt, the club said on its website.
The Bosnian is seen as a direct replacement for their veteran keeper, Petr Cech who left for their London rivals Arsenal early in the transfer window.
Happy to join Chelsea: Begovic
Begovic said: “I am very happy to be joining Chelsea FC. After speaking at length to the manager, I feel like I can develop here and be an important part of this team. I am looking forward to meeting up with the team on Wednesday for the pre-season tour.”
Begovic had earlier made it clear he would leave Britannia Stadium this transfer window, and Chelsea were one among his many suitors including Aston Villa and Manchester United, according to The Express.
He had a year left on his contract at Stoke which put the club in an awkward position either to sell him at this price or let him go as a free agent at the end of next season. The club chose the former putting an end to the speculation surrounding the goalkeeper.
The keeper took to Twitter to express his gratitude upon joining Chelsea and also thanked his fans, Mark Hughes, Tony Pulis among many others through his official Twitter account.
Marco Van Ginkel part of the deal
It was widely speculated that Stoke City would want one of Chelsea’s youngsters in exchange for their prized asset. Marco Van Ginkel, the Holland midfielder was part of the deal that has landed Begovic at Stamford Bridge.
The 22-year old player will who spent last season on loan at Milan, will help to fill the void left by Steven Nzonzi’s transfer to Sevilla.
