Report: Chelsea flop could join local rivals

West Ham United are keen to sign out-of-favour Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic on loan next month, according to the London Evening Standard.

The report claims West Ham manager SlavenBilic wants to strengthen his goalkeeping options and has identified the 29-year-old Bosnia and Herzegovina international as a leading target.

West Ham have the second-worst defensive record in the league since the start of the season, having conceded 29 goals in 14 games so far.

The Hammers’ Spanish goalkeeper Adrian was dropped for Republic of Ireland international Darren Randolph in the middle of November, but this hasn’t solved anything as West Ham have conceded 9 goals in Randolph’s last three league games as a starter.

West Ham definitely need a new goalkeeper in January and Begovic could be a fantastic option for them.

The former Stoke City goalkeeper is second choice behind Thibaut Courtois at Stamford Bridge and is believed to be keen to move to another club in January in search for first-team action.

Begovic has only played 300 minutes in all competitions for Chelsea this term and that’s obviously not enough for an established international goalkeeper.

Despite Begovic’s reported desire to move on as soon as possible, it’s unclear whether Antonio Conte would agree to let the player leave in the middle of the season.

Chelsea are currently top of the Premier League table, so Conte might decide to keep Begovic until next summer in case Courtois suffers an injury in the next few months.