Chelsea have reportedly shown a serious desire to sign Norwich City goalkeeper John Ruddy, especially after he was picked by England national boss, Roy Hodgson, for the recent international friendlies played before the end of last season.
Jose Mourinho is looking to strengthen his side on all fronts, and as the Portuguese manager enters the second stint of his career at Stamford Bridge, he is trying to look at players from England due to the new squad rules implemented by the Barclays Premier League. Chelsea currently have players like Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Gary Cahill who are involved with the national side, but with Petr Cech aging, Ruddy would be the perfect keeper to play under him for a couple of seasons, before taking over the number one jersey.
The current England keeping scenario involves Joe Hart as the permanent number one, with West Brom’s Ben Foster, Celtic’s Fraser Forster and Ruddy as the reserve keepers. Ruddy has been one of the most impressive goalkeepers in England, and has truly earned his place for the Three Lions, after performing on a consistent basis for Norwich. Manchester City keeper Hart has been struggling a little to keep his performances at the highest level, with much criticism from the media and former manager Roberto Mancini alike.
The fee being talked about is in the region of £7 million, which would be a good fee for a keeper who still has potential to be the best. Norwich have had a busy summer, after unveiling Ricky van Wolfswinkel as their newest signing from Sporting Lisbon in Portugal. Canaries manager Chris Hughton will be delighted with the business conducted so far, adding firepower to his squad. The most recent signing by Hughton is England Under-21 attacker Nathan Redmond from Birmingham City, who will add spark into the midfield/midfield with his pace and trickery. Considering the fee paid for van Wolfswinkel was in the region of £5.5 million, Ruddy’s £7 million fee should help the coffers at the club.
All clubs have returned to their training grounds for the start of the pre-season campaign, with many deals yet to be completed, including Luis Suarez’ or Edinson Cavani’s reported moves to Stamford Bridge.