Chelsea Close On Begovic  (Sky Sports)

Sky sources report that Chelsea are close to signing Bosnia international goalkeeper Asmir Begovic from Stoke.

Stoke will not allow the 28-year-old to leave until they have completed the signing of Shay Given from Aston Villa, although that deal is expected to be completed on Friday.

Chelsea favourite Petr Cech acted as deputy to first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois at Stamford Bridge last season but the experienced Czech international was sold to Arsenal last month.

And Begovic, who has a year left on his Stoke contract, now looks set to slot into Cech’s role in the squad, with Dutch midfielder Marko Van Ginkel moving to the Britannia Stadium on a year-long loan as part of the arrangement.

England U21 international Jack Butland is poised to take over from Begovic as Stoke’s first-choice goalkeeper, with the 39-year-old Given also competing for the jersey if his move goes through as expected.

The hugely experienced Republic of Ireland international completed a medical at Stoke on Thursday but has yet to finalise the terms of his release from Villa.