Bournemouth favourites to land Chelsea man, but he’ll cost them £12m

Inconsistency has played a huge part in Bournemouth’s season so far. That, and a worryingly impressive ability to concede goals at a dangerous rate.

They’ve beaten Liverpool drawn with Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal already in this campaign, scoring seven goals in those games combined.

But for those positives, there are downsides.

Last weekend’s shock 3-1 defeat to Hull City was remarkably the eighth time in 10 outings in all competitions that the Cherries have conceded three or more.

But they could go a long way towards tightening up that leaky defensive unit though with the acquisition of Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

Eddie Howe has reportedly already had a £10m bid rejected for the shotstopper, with the four-time Premier League champions holding out for £12m.

And while that would make Begovic Bournemouth’s second-most expensive signing of all-time, it’s a deal our traders clearly think will go ahead, as they’ve made the south-coast outfit 4/6 favourites for his signature.

Since arriving at Stamford Bridge at the beginning of the 2015-16 campaign, the 29-year-old Bosnian has seen very little in the way of game-time, and has just 17 league appearances to his name – all of which came last season.

That’s simply not good enough for a man of his age, talent and experience.

The fact that the Cherries are even considering parting with over £10m for the Bosnian tells us he’d walk straight into Eddie Howe’s starting XI.

But with less than two weeks to go until the transfer window slams shut, the 39-year-old boss will have to act quickly if he’s to add Begovic to his ranks.

Bournemouth host Watford this weekend at the Vitality Stadium, and having drawn five of their last six meetings with the Hornets, there could well be some value in the 5/2 on offer for the points to be shared once again.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing