Chelsea are set to land Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

The 27-year-old Bosnian has less than a year remaining on his contract and it is believed that the goalkeeper has spoken to Stoke manager Mark Hughes and chief executive Tony Scholes over his future with the club.

It had been reported that Stoke rejected a bid from Aston Villa for Begovic earlier in the week, and now Chelsea are in poll position to sign the keeper, who has made his name as one of the best in the Premier League.

Sky sources believe Chelsea now head the queue for the Bosnia-Herzegovina international, although there remains “lots of interest” from other clubs.

Chelsea are on the lookout for a new player to stand between the sticks after it is becoming increasingly likely that Petr Cech will leave the club after over 10 years. It is now thought that Begovic will be the man to take over from Cech, although that may mean having a role on the bench rather than in the starting XI.

Begovic signed for Stoke from Portsmouth in 2010 after a successful spell at Pompey. He then managed to claim his spot as Stoke’s number 1 and has since played an integral part in the side.

His successor at Stoke has already been planned well in advance, as England U21 keeper Jack Butland is almost certain to take over as their number 1 in Begovic’s absence.

Begovic would certainly be a good acquisition by Chelsea, but with Courtois’ presence as one of the best goalkeepers in the world it would seem unlikely that the Bosnian would get the game time he would want.