Chelsea make £6m bid to sign Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic as Petr Cech's replacement

Chelsea have reportedly tabled a £6m (9.4m) bid to sign Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, as they look to replace Petr Cech, who completed his move across London to join rivals Arsenal on Monday, 29 June.

According to The Daily Telegraph, Jose Mourinho has made the Bosnian stopper his first choice replacement for the Czech Republic international and is hoping to concluded the deal sooner rather than later.

But, the Potters have reportedly rejected the Blues' initial offer as the club value the player around the £8m ($12.5m) mark and will demand a player as part of the deal to take Begovic to Stamford Bridge this summer.

Chelsea are unwilling to part with a player, but are reportedly ready to return with an improved offer, which is set to be closer to the valuation set by the Britannia Stadium outfit, with the Premier League champions keen on completing the deal within the next 48 hours.

The 28-year-old defender, who has just one-year left on his current deal, has not signed a new deal at the club and it is expected to move to a bigger club this summer. According to the Mirror, Manchester United are also keeping tabs on the former Portsmouth stopper as they face the prospect of losing David de Gea to Real Madrid this summer.

However, the Bosnian goalkeeper's former manager Harry Redknapp believes that the stopper will not move to Stamford Bridge to play second fiddle to Thibaut Courtois, who is Mourinho's preferred choice between the sticks.

The former Queens Park Rangers and Portsmouth manager believes that the Red Devils should make a move for him to be their first-choice in the event of the Spanish stopper's departure to the La Liga giants this summer.

"I cannot see Asmir Begovic going to Chelsea. He's too good a keeper to be a number two and if he goes to Stamford Bridge then he'll only be Thibaut Courtois' replacement," Redknapp said, as quoted by the London Evening Standard.

"He's a great pro and definitely a top six team keeper and if, as looks likely, De Gea goes to Real Madrid then I think Manchester United should look at him, he's that good," the former Tottenham manager added.