Begovic leaves Chelsea for Bournemouth

Bournemouth have sealed the signing of goalkeeper Asmir Begovic from Chelsea.

The south-coast club have bought Begovic, 29, for an undisclosed fee – reported to be £10m – and announced on Tuesday afternoon that he had signed “a long-term deal”.

Bournemouth were keen to sign him during the January transfer window but Chelsea refused to sell because they were unable to bring in an alternative deputy for first-choice keeper Thibaut Courtois.

The Bosnian, 29, moved to Stamford Bridge from Stoke City in July 2015 and made 33 appearances for the Blues, with eight of them coming last season.

“Being part of a title-winning team at Chelsea was amazing but I felt now was the right time to move on because I want to be playing regular football,” he told Bournemouth’s website.

“I am coming into an important part of my career and I want to show people what I am capable of.”

Begovic, then a Portsmouth player, spent two months on loan at Bournemouth in 2007.