Chelsea have filled the void left by Petr Cech s departure to Arsenal, capturing Asmir Begovic from Stoke City for an undisclosed fee.
Begovic, 28, had been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge and has penned a four-year deal the transfer going through on Monday after Chelsea agreed to send midfielder Marco van Ginkel on a season-long loan to Stoke on Friday.
Stoke also brought in Shay Given from Aston Villa to provide goalkeeping cover prior to Begovic s exit being confirmed.
The Bosnia-Herzegovina goalkeeper joined Stoke from Portsmouth in January 2010 and duly ousted Thomas Sorensen to become Stoke s regular number one.
Begovic s form in recent seasons has prompted frequent links with bigger clubs and he will now provide competition for Thibaut Courtois at Chelsea.
He told Chelsea s official website: I am very happy to be joining Chelsea.
After speaking at length to the manager, I feel like I can develop here and be an important part of this team.
I am looking forward to meeting up with the team on Wednesday for the pre-season tour.
In a separate statement posted via his official Twitter account, Begovic added: I have loved my time at Stoke, but feel I had to take this opportunity for me to continue to develop and challenge myself as a player.
I am very proud of what we achieved during my time at Stoke, and it has been a great team of players to work with.
I wish you all the best for the season ahead.
