Chelsea, Arsenal and Aston Villa are in the race to sign former Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli, who is a free agent. Gunners and Villa are the latest English teams to show an interest in Bettinelli free agent, who is also a target for the Blues.
Marcus is coming off a roller-coaster off a spell with the Cottagers, with whom the goalkeeper has spent his whole senior footballing career, except the years the shot-stopper was out on loan.
Throughout his stint with Fulham, the 29-year-old goalkeeper played 120 games, keeping 31 clean sheets in the process. England international, though, is now a free agent and ready to join a team other than the Cottagers permanently for the first time in his career.
However, despite being released by Fulham, there is no shortage of interest in the English goalkeeper, who Chelsea, Arsenal and Aston Villa are courting.
The Blues’ interest in Bettinelli comes following the departure of Willy Caballero, which has forced them to scour the market for a new third-choice shot-stopper. To that end, Chelsea have been linked with several alternatives, with Marcus being their latest target.
On the other hand, Gunners are in search of a new backup for Bernd Leno after failing to sign Mathew Ryan permanently. The German goalkeeper’s future isn’t settled, Runar Runarsson just isn’t good enough, and the Australian shot-stopper has moved on to Real Sociedad after his loan spell ended.
The Gunners at least need another shot-stopper to offer cover and contest behind Leno, and Marcus provides a very cheap alternative.
To that end, Arsenal have identified many possible alternatives to strengthen their goalkeeping area, with Aaron Ramsdale and Sam Johnstone among those on their list.
As for Aston Villa, with Tom Heaton joining Man United, there is no viable backup for the Argentine shot-stopper Emiliano Martinez.
To that end, the English goalkeeper is a potential target for Aston Villa, who are battling the Blues and Gunners for Bettinelli’s signature this transfer window.
For now, what appears to be sure is that Marcus could be ready for a comeback to the Premier League amid interest from Chelsea, Arsenal and Aston Villa. It now stays to be seen as to which of the three clubs end up securing his services this transfer window.
Marcus was called into the Three Lions squad by Gareth Southgate during the 2017-2018 campaign following a string of impressive displays for the Cottagers, but Fulham’s relegation back into the Championship season effectively halted his international aspirations.
