Asmir Begovic is moving nearer to sealing a move to Everton and will then become Rafa Benitez’s first senior signing.
The veteran goalkeeper is going to join Everton and provide some additonal competition to Jordan Pickford as Robin Olsen did last season.
Begovic will move to Merseyside from Bournemouth where he has been for the past few years including when the Cherries were in the Premier League.
This seems a reasonable move by the Blues to provide the backup that Pickford needed to help him to continue to produce his best form next season.
The Toffees number one has been outstanding for England in the recent Euros including saving two penalties in the final shootout, which was not enough to secure the trophy for the host nation.
This came after Pickford had finished last season very strongly with Everton cementing his place in the team after what had again been a shaky first half of the campaign.
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Pickford’s improvement in form came from a combination of having the pressure of Olsen’s presence in the squad and apparent work with a pyschologist.
When Olsen returned to Roma it seemed very likely that the Blues would look to bring in another keeper like him to maintain that effective strategy.
The one keeper that was being talked about as his replacement was ex-Manchester United number one Sergio Romero. But now it looks like Everton have decided on Begovic instead.
In other news the Toffees won another friendly game defeating Blackburn Rovers 1-0 with a Jean-Philippe Gbamin goal proving the difference.
This is positive stuff with Gbamin scoring his first goal for the club and continuing his progress back to full fitness.
With funds seemingly limited and the need to concetrate transfer spending on other areas of the team, Gbamin’s form is a good sign for the upcoming season.