Bosnia-Herzegovina’s goalkeeper Asmir Begovic takes part in a training session at the Sammy Ofer Stadium in the Israeli coastal city of Haifa on November 15, 2014. PHOTO/AFP
LONDON, July 13- Premier League champions Chelsea on Monday announced the signing of Bosnian international goalkeeper Asmir Begovic from Stoke City.
Begovic, 28, has agreed a four-year deal at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea paying Stoke an undisclosed fee to make the goalkeeper their second major signing of the summer.
British press reports put the fee at £8 million ($12.4m, 11.2m euros).
“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,” Begovic told Chelsea’s official website.
His arrival in west London follows the signing of Colombian striker Radamel Falcao on a season-long loan from Monaco, and the giant shot-stopper will give Thibaut Courtois competition for places between the posts after Petr Cech was sold to Arsenal.
Begovic, who went to school in Canada and represented that country at the under-20 World Cup in 2007, spent more than five years with Stoke after moving to the Britannia Stadium from Portsmouth in 2010.
