Since Petr Cech has announced his intentions to leave Chelsea at the end of the season, a host of names have been mentioned as candidates to replace the Czech Republic international. Robert Green was one of many names linked with a move to play back up to Thibaut Courtois.
However, Jose Mourinho may be looking for a more youthful back up goalkeeper. According to the Telegraph, Mourinho attended Fulham’s 1-1 draw with Rotherham recently to watch over twenty one year old goalkeeper, Marcus Bettinelli. The goal keeper has one more year remaining on his contract and Fulham may look to cash in on the goal keeper following a tough first year in the Championship. Although no official bid is yet to be made, it is clear to see Bettinelli has caught the eye of Mourinho.
To find out a little more about Bettinelli, I spoke to Alex Crowther from TheSecondTier. Alex told me this: “Marcus Bettinelli has been on top form for Fulham this season. Having a top keeper in the sticks is very important in the championship and Marcus certainly provided that for the The Cottagers. If the blues were to snap him up i’m sure he would have a very bright future at Stamford Bridge and one day challenge for the number 1 jersey.”
Bettinelli is the son of Vic Bettinelli, the Fulham academy goal keeping coach. Mourinho’s son Jose Mario is a goal keeper in the youth ranks at Fulham. A move for Bettinelli would be the cheaper option for the club, with a £2m move for QPR’s Robert Green also rumoured. Bettinelli has made thirty seven league appearances this season and won two man of the match awards, according to whoscored.com.
