Bournemouth have signed Asmir Begovic from Chelsea for a reported fee of around £10m. The 29-year-old Bosnian international will be wearing the Cherries jersey from the next season and could replace Artur Boruc who is 37 years of age. Begovic joined the Blues in 2015 from Stoke City after the Blues shelled out £8m to lure him to Stamford Bridge. Looking at the fee agreed between the two clubs, the English Champions have made a significant profit from his sale.
The ex-Potters keeper was brought as a backup to Thibaut Courtois but still managed to play a large chunk of the Premier League games in his maiden season due to an injury to Courtois. But this season he hasn’t had chances as the Belgian keeper has been in excellent form and Antonio Conte didn’t tweak his starting lineup throughout the entire season.
After repeatedly failed to break into the starting lineup, Begovic expressed his desire for a move to have more game time under his belt and the move is a result of this.
Bournemouth came calling in January but Conte’s failure to land any alternative for Begovic jeopardised the deal. Begovic did have a rough spell with the club when he was on loan from Portsmouth and had played eight matches for them in 2007. But now the situation is different and he is on the verge of becoming the number one keeper of the Cherries.
Begovic had a very fruitful association with Stoke in his five years spell with the club before moving to Chelsea in 2015. At 29, he is in his prime and it seems Eddie Howe has just pulled off a bargain deal for his side. He has established himself as one of the most reputed and consistent goalkeepers in the Premier League and would try to achieve a new high with the Cherries.
Begovic reacted very positively after signing on behalf of them. “AFC Bournemouth is an exciting, ambitious club which has everything in place for a very bright future.
“Being part of a title-winning team at Chelsea was amazing but I felt now was the right time to move on because I want to be playing regular football.”
He is a keeper with a very strong arm and excellent reflexes. Begovic’s main plus point is his height as he could easily deal with the set piece situations by using his aerial ability. He is still at the top of his game and can really uplift Bournemouth’s chances in the next season.
