Asmir Begovic rejects new Everton contract, will leave club at the end of the month
Everton have confirmed that goalkeeper Asmir Begovic has rejected the offer of a new contract and will leave when his current deal expires at the end of the month.
The Toffees confirmed that they have offered new contracts to Andy Lonegran, Seamus Coleman, Tom Davies and Begovic, but the Bosnian shot-stopper has already turned them down.
Lonegran, Coleman and Davies remain in negotiations, while Yerry Mina and Andros Townsend have not had their deals renewed and will follow Begovic out of Goodison Park.
A shame
Begovic has been a reliable understudy to Jordan Pickford over the years and there were several people who expected that the goalkeeper unit would be kept together.
Pickford obviously signed a new deal earlier in the year, and Lonegran has also been offered a new deal. But Begovic seemingly believes he is good enough to be first-choice elsewhere and wants to try it out.
That means the club will need to make a decision when it comes to Pickford’s back-up next season and they can either promote Lonegram to second-choice and then bring a youngster up into the first-team, or they can go and sign someone.
But with finances tight this summer and plenty of areas needing strengthening as a greater priority than back-up goalkeeper, the latter option seems unlikely.
Begovic will be remembered for doing his job well and pushing Pickford during a period where he was at his best for Everton, but it’s probably the right decision for him to move on and play elsewhere if that’s how he feels.