With the impending departure of Petr Cech this summer, Chelsea FC is in need of a back up goalkeeper. According to The Telegraph, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was spotted last week taking in a Championship match between Fulham and Rotherham United. The rumors begin to swirl that Mourinho was there to scout Fulham’s young keeper Marcus Bettinelli.
The Blues have been linked to several veteran goalkeepers in the past few months. Robert Green of Queens Park Rangers has been touted as one of those replacements for Cech as well as the 44-year-old Brad Friedel. Freidel’s best days are obviously behind him and despite the experience he can bring to the table, making a move for a player of his age is not ideal.
Robert Green has his moments and shows flashes of talent but he is also often a disaster waiting to happen. He is most known for his howler against the United States in the 2010 World Cup and most recently he gifted Chelsea FC three points with a poor goal kick at Loftus Road. If Chelsea’s current number one Thibaut Courtois was to suffer any injuries, it is doubtful that the fans would feel comfortable with Robert Green between the sticks.
By Nick from Bristol, UK (Norwich v Fulham FC (2014)) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsSo in comes the youngster Marcus Bettinelli. He is just 21 years old and has yet to be tested in the Premier League but has been playing well in the Championship. This season is his first full season as a starter for Fulham but he has spent the past two seasons on loan at Dartford of the Conference Premier and Accrington Stanley of League Two. In November 2014 he made his England U21 debut and kept a clean sheet.
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Bettinelli may very well be a very talented young keeper but his inexperience makes him doubtful as a Chelsea transfer target to replace Peter Cech. He may be a player that Chelsea is going to keep an eye one for the future but with a current number one who is nearly the same age as Bettinelli in Courtois, there is little reason to bring him in. Bettinelli will also be looking to make the step up to a club where he can still be the number one.
A 21-year-old goalkeeper will not move to a club where he knows he will be firmly entrenched in the number two role. While the alternatives of Green and Friedel are not ideal, there are several other experienced goalkeepers that Chelsea can bring in. The best move would be to bring in an English player so the number two goalkeeper will not be taking a foreign player spot. Bettinelli obviously meets that requirement but there is too much going against the move for it to become reality.
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