Petr Cech has been a long time servant of Chelsea Football Club and apart from winning a myriad of awards he has also helped the team escalate to the heights aspired by Russian oligarch, Roman Abramovich.
Since Cech was bought in 2004 he managed to displace Carlo Cudicini and fight off challenges for the starting spot, but the time has come for him to move on in search of a starting position. Chelsea’s clean sheet record holder is considered to be a legend by most Chelsea fans and a traitor, if he does indeed transfer to Arsenal.
The only question left to answer is who can replace Petr Cech on the Chelsea bench?
The backup goalkeeper role is highly unglamorous role and is not aspired by many, but at Chelsea it means the opportunity to win a few trophies without really having to do much as long as Thibaut Courtois stays fit.
1) Asmir Begovic
The number one option to replace Cech at Chelsea has to definitely be Asmir Begovic. The Guinness World Record holder for longest goal scored, 91.9 meters vs Southampton, is now being linked to Chelsea and with the 26 year-old Bosnian being reportedly unsettled at Stoke he could prove to be a great option to replace Cech and backup Courtois.
The Bosnian has kept an impressive 44 Premier Clean sheets since joining the Potters in 2010 and saved his team many times from defeat. The only reason that 44 PL clean sheets in 160 appearances is impressive is because his defence has not always been stellar and he is mostly always the team’s saviour. No price has been set on the Stoke shot stopper, but whatever it is it would be worth spending.
2) Robert Green
The infamous English keeper is best remembered for his fumbling of a Clint Dempsey long shot in the World Cup which soon saw him dropped from the England first team, but apart from this heinous error Green is not bad at all. He had a fantastic season considering he played for QPR and saved them multiple times, unfortunately they still got relegated.
But someones misfortune could prove to be Chelsea’s fortune. Green would not only be a cheap and experienced backup, he would also count as a home-grown English player and would benefit the club in that manner. He could more than do a good job as a backup for Courtois.
3) Jamal Blackman
Jamal Blackman is a fairly decent goalkeeper at the youth level and was a solid rock in the 2011-2012 FA youth Cup winning campaign. He was also part of the under-21s squad that secured the title. Under Rafa Benitez he took command of the posts in the post-season against Manchester City and sadly conceded 4, but it was only a friendly.
Apart from that his only senior appearances have been for Middlesbrough since he was on loan there with Omeruo the first half of the season. His lack of experience goes against him, but he makes a fairly decent backup, is 100% free, and is completely homegrown and has trained with the first team for half a season.
4) John Ruddy
According to The Express, John Ruddy has already stated that he isn’t willing to end his days at Norwich, which may only happen when he retires since he stayed with the Canaries even through the thick of relegation last season.
Apart from that if Ruddy does join the Blues then his solid amount of experience would make him a valuable backup goalkeeper and he would be cheap as well, around 3-5 million pounds, and with him being English it would add to the number of home-grown players.
5) Diego Lopez
The Spaniard is an excellent option to replace Cech and has a vast amount of experience playing in the top flight of European football with Real Madrid and AC Milan. He was crucial for Real Madrid during Jose’s fallout with Iker Casillas and was Milan’s best player on many occasions in their disappointing 2014-’15 campaign which saw them end the season in 10th place and without European football.
Lopez may be willing to join the Blues in order to have the opportunity to play European football once again and to reunite with Jose Mourinho. He may not be as cheap as the rest but he is a fantastic shot-stopper and leader. His only downside would be that he is not English and would not be considered home-grown. He also lacks experience in the Premier League.
Whoever is chosen to replace Cech on the bench won’t have it easy if Courtois were to get injured. Hopefully that won’t happen.
