Chelsea have confirmed that Asmir Begovic will wear the No.1 shirt next season, with Thibaut Courtois retaining the No. 13 shirt he wore last term.
The Pensioners confirmed the deal to sign the Stoke City keeper on Monday, with the Bosnia and Herzegovina international signing on a four-year deal.
The 28-year-old is understood to have moved to Stamford Bridge on an £8 million deal [via BBC Sport].
Ostensibly, Begovic will be moving to West London as a replacement for Petr Cech, who completed a move to Arsenal last month.
The Czech Republic keeper found himself as an understudy to Courtois last term, managing only six Premier League starts as the Blues lifted the EPL title.
.@thibautcourtois will remain No. 13 with @asmir1 taking the vacant number No.1 shirt… #CFC pic.twitter.com/pE8Cjxtwti
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 13, 2015
Begovic featured 35 times for Stoke last term, and looks unlikely to merely be content to move to Stamford Bridge in order to play backup to Courtois.
Having already established himself as one of the most impressive keepers in the Premiership, Begovic may well be keen to put pressure on Courtois and steal the first-choice berth.
Is the revelation that Begovic will take the #1 shirt and that Courtois will remain as #13 evidence that Mourinho is not simply accepting that the Belgian will remain as his first-choice next term?
Can Begovic hope for anything more than a spot on the substitutes’ bench?
Comment below and let us know.
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