Chelsea poised to complete £8m move for Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic

Chelsea are reportedly poised to complete the signing of Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, with the Bosnian set to occupy Petr Cech's place in the Blues' first-team.

According to the Guardian, the Stoke 'keeper will move to Stamford Bridge after his current employers accepted a bid of around £8m along with Marco van Ginkel, who will move to the Britannia Stadium on a season-long loan.

Jose Mourinho has been scouring the market for Cech's replacement and had made Begovic his top priority to replace the now Arsenal stopper. The goalkeeper himself had admitted that he was keen on a move to a bigger club after spending five years in goal following his arrival from Portsmouth in 2010.

Mark Hughes was reluctant to let go of his number one, and according to the Telegraph, the club rejected an earlier bid from the Blues, but have now accepted an improved offer. It is believed that the reason for the deal stalling was because Stoke wanted a Chelsea player on loan along with the fee.

It was initially believed, according to the Mirror, that Victor Moses will return for yet another spell, but Marco van Ginkel has been offered as part of the deal. The Dutch midfielder spent last season on loan at AC Milan and will now spend the 2015/16 campaign at the Britannia Stadium.

The Potters are already close to signing Shay Given, Sky Sports reports, with the former Newcastle United stopper set to move to the club to provide a backup for England U21 'keeper Jack Butland, who is set to start as the Stoke number one.

According to the Independent, Manchester United are also in the running for the Bosnian international, as Louis van Gaal looks for a replacement in case David de Gea's proposed move to Real Madrid goes through.