Chelsea FC goalkeeping legend Petr Cech is set for imminent showdown talks with the club regarding his future at Stamford Bridge.
Having been replaced as Chelsea’s number 1 by Thibaut Courtois, the Czech Republic international seems all but certain to be on his way out. With this in mind, let’s check out five potential replacements for the frankly irreplaceable big man.
Next: Robert Green
Robert Green is a veteran of the game. Currently 35 years old, he has never played outside the top two flights of English football in a mammoth career that just wrapped its 17th season.
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Further to that, he’s only ever played for three clubs: Norwich City, West Ham United and Queens Park Rangers. Having racked up 241 appearances for The Canaries, he did exactly the same for West Ham before going on to play 101 more times for his current employers at Loftus Road.
More important, though, is the general view that he is actually half-decent in goal.
Green represents an ideal candidate to fill the 2nd ‘keeper role at Stamford Bridge. At his age, he is unlikely to be stubborn about playing opportunities but does indeed still have the quality to step up to the plate when occasionally required.
QPR were relegated this past season, which may entice the England international (12 caps) to make the jump. After all, this may well be his last shot to mix it in with the big boys. He shouldn’t forget, either, the inevitably decent compensation that he’ll receive for keeping the bench warm on a harsh winter’s afternoon.
From the club’s point of view, meanwhile, Green is out of contract next June so should be available for a suitably cheap price. There is also talk that QPR are looking to off-load most of their squad anyway. If you believe rumours, Green seems the most likely candidate to be at Stamford Bridge next season.
Next: Brad Guzan
Brad Guzan provides a more intriguing case. Aston Villa’s undisputed number 1 for 90% of the season, the installation of Tim Sherwood as manager resulted in him being benched for the last five games of the campaign.
Guzan was at the heart of an absolutely disastrous Villa defence last season, although to be fair it was more six of one, half a dozen of the other in terms of sharing the blame. Nevertheless, Guzan’s part in it was evidently large enough for Sherwood to replace him with veteran Shay Given.
Now, having been kept in the dark regarding his future with the club, the Blues may be able to dive in and nab him for a knock-down price. He is 30 years old and while rumours seem to be only linking him with a move back to Major League Soccer, he may find that this is his last opportunity in European football.
Meanwhile, if you have any doubts about his quality, just check out his performance from last week as USA overturned Germany, mere days after defeating the Netherlands too.
‘MURICA
Next: Asmir Begovic
Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic is one of the names recently doing the rounds as to a potential move to Stamford Bridge. The Bosnian is an established Premier League-calibre shot-stopper, having made 172 appearances for The Potters.
With only 27 years on the clock, there is certainly much more left in him and reports say that he’s set to leave The Britannia this summer. Having apparently rejected any contract offers from Stoke boss Mark Hughes, the club seem destined to off-load him by August especially given that his current deal runs out next June.
By acquiring Begovic, Chelsea would have a 2nd choice keeper that you would trust to play in the Champions League final. Though this is where the issue is. Begovic possesses enough quality, and enough youth, to most likely not want to join the Blues in the knowledge that his playing time will be limited. Furthermore, he knows that there will be other suitors.
If Chelsea do manage to attract him, let’s hope for more of this:
Next: Marcus Bettinelli
Marcus Bettinelli is by far the youngest player on this list at the age of 23. The former England U21 ‘keeper has been contracted by Fulham for the last three seasons, although he enjoyed a breakout year in the one just gone by.
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Bettinelli is highly-rated with murmurs that he could eventually replace Joe Hart in the national team. For now, though, he has a year to run on his current deal and is in talks with Fulham to extend it.
However, the bright lights of Stamford Bridge and the convenience of a short move across West London may be enough to make him refute Fulham’s efforts.
Although if Chelsea are able to capture him, it may be a deal that would only last a couple of seasons. With such potential, it won’t be long before Bettinelli has properly grown out of the learning phase and starts angling for regular first team football.
At that point no-one will be able to blame him and neither should they prevent him from leaving. Until then, though, this could be a perfect move for the Blues.
Next: Iker Casillas
Iker Casillas could be regarded as the most unlikely of the names mentioned here to become a Blue, but Victor Valdes joined Manchester United so why should it be impossible?
The Real Madrid and Spanish legend is on course to leave the Santiago Bernabeu having not known any other club, appearing a whopping 725 times for the senior team. The World Cup winner is 34, and could be an incredible addition to the Blues squad.
The wealth of experience that Casillas brings would be beneficial not only to Thibaut Courtois, but any of the Chelsea players in general. He has won every medal you could dream of multiple times. Further to that, he’s never really been involved in a significant altercation, appearing to be an all-around model professional.
But will he be willing to take in games from the bench? Well, when Jose Mourinho failed to reinstate him following an injury while Jose was at Real Madrid, it appeared as though Spain’s captain was pushing for an exit in search of regular playing time. Eventually, though, his departure did not materialise.
However, at his current age he may just be willing to take a step back. Perhaps an offer of a player-coach role would win Casillas over.
Issues that the Blues will have are that he’ll be unlikely to want to reunite with Mourinho following their chapter in Madrid. Also, he’ll undoubtedly receive excessively lucrative offers from teams and leagues around the world. Even though he certainly has enough in the bank, money talks.
Always.
Next: Round-Up
Petr Cech is most likely going to leave Chelsea in the summer. No-one has a right to stop him so Mourinho will need to dip into the goalkeeping section of the transfer market.
The 2nd choice ‘keeper role is never an easy position to fill. Clubs need to strike the right balance between cost and quality as it only takes one bad tackle to force the goalkeeper expecting to only feature in a handful of games become the man between the sticks each week.
So what do you think, Chelsea fans? Which one of these goalkeepers would you like to see taking his seat alongside John Obi Mikel next season? Which deal do you feel is most likely? Sound off in the comments below!
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