Jose Mourinho is not a man to mess around in regards to his transfer targets and after the sale of Petr Cech to rivals Arsenal earlier this week, the Chelsea manager has his sights firmly set on replacing his former 'keeper straight away.

One player who has been heavily linked with a move is Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, with The Telegraph reporting that an £8m move for the Bosnian international has been made.

A move to Chelsea is something many players can only dream of, however the Bosnian needs to reject any advances from the Londoners for the sake of his career.

Begovic has been a revelation at Stoke the past few seasons, playing a major role in turning the club from relegation candidates to a team pushing for European football.

He has been consistently linked with some of the biggest sides in the world including Liverpool and Manchester United, as well as Chelsea.

There is no debate the goalkeeper can perform at a higher level than Stoke but Stamford Bridge is not the answer.

Begovic in fact needs to learn a lesson from the man his could succeed, Cech, who had to leave the club due to a lack of first-team opportunities. Cech is world class and would walk into 99% of starting line-ups around the globe, and the fact that he could get nowhere near the No.1 spot at the Bridge should speak volumes.

The current Chelsea stopper, Thibaut Courtois, has firmly established himself in Mourinho's plans and at the age of 23 is already one of the best goalkeepers there is

Courtois can easily hold onto the No.1 jersey at the Bridge for the next decade if he continues the way he has been performing.

Begovic would no doubt be second choice to Courtois and it is purely a question of whether the 28yearold wants to actually play or is just happy to pick up a pay cheque for doing nothing.

Mourinho has a habit of ruining the careers of a talented individuals, with the likes of Filipe Luis, Juan Cuadrado and Mohamed Salah all given barely any time to establish themselves in the first team in recent times.

Begovic definitely has too much talent to waste on the bench like the others.

It seems to be a question of patience for the Bosnian, yes he needs to leave Stoke sooner rather than later, but if he remains patient he may get an offer that is perfect for him.

David De Gea and Hugo Lloris are constantly being linked with moves away from their current employers Manchester United and Tottenham and its clear to everyone that Liverpool are not happy with Simon Mignolet.

Begovic would be a great option for all three of those clubs and it would be worth staying at Stoke until any of these clubs come knocking, and they will definitely come knocking.

That is easier said than done, though. It will be hard to turn down a move to the Premier League champions.

The key factor in his decision needs to be first-team football. Begovic has years left ahead of him and although a move to Chelsea has its benefits, Courtois is not going to be easily displaced, so the Bosnian needs to be realistic.

Manchester United are his best option, with increased speculation over De Gea's future. United have been known admirers of the Stoke 'keeper for years and can offer the player his dream move to a big club.

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