Chelsea hold out for £12m for Asmir Begovic after knocking back £10m Bournemouth bid

Simon Johnson20 January 2017

Chelsea have rejected a £10m offer from Bournemouth for keeper Asmir Begovic and will take a lot of convincing to sell him this month.

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe wants Begovic to become his new first choice goalie ahead of Artur Boruc and is now considering whether to make a higher bid.

Chelsea value the 29-year-old at a minimum of £12m, but Bournemouth suspect the League leaders may be prepared to sell before the end of January.

When asked about his interest in Begovic at a press conference today, Howe admitted he is still hoping to buy players this month. He said: "We are looking but I can't guarantee that we'll be doing anything."

Begovic, who joined from Stoke for £8m in 2015, has made only four appearances for the Blues (all in the EFL and FA Cup) this term and wants more first team football.

Thibaut Courtois is the undisputed No 1 at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea are looking to offer him a new deal to ensure he stays at the club beyond 2019.

Begovic attracted a lot of interest in the summer transfer window and Chelsea signed Portugal international Eduardo from Dinamo Zagreb in late August just in case he completed a move elsewhere before deadline day.

The players on Chelsea’s transfer shortlist

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But selling Begovic now and promoting Eduardo, who has not played a game for Chelsea yet, to the role of back-up keeper will represent a major gamble for coach Antonio Conte.

The Blues currently lead the Premier League by seven points, but an injury to Courtois would leave them vulnerable, even though Eduardo has been capped 36 times by Portugal.

Chelsea had to turn to Begovic for three months last season after Courtois suffered a knee injury in August.

Even if Begovic does see out the season at Chelsea, it is expected he will look for a move away in the summer.

Bournemouth, where he spent two months on loan a decade ago, will come back in for Begovic then should they fail to acquire him this month.

London Football! Stay on top of all the news and gossip from the January window in our transfer section.

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