Asmir Begovic revealed he's been in discussions with clubs about his next move and opened up on his "difficult" time at Everton.
The goalkeeper spent the past two years at Goodison Park after arriving on a free transfer from AFC Bournemouth in the summer of 2021. However, he announced earlier this month that he would be leaving the club once his contract expires at the end of this month.
Begovic made a total of 10 appearances for the Blues, having spent his time at Goodison playing back-up to Jordan Pickford. And even though the former Chelsea man is set to be a free agent, as things stand, he has revealed he has held talks with clubs.
“Still very much a free agent,” said Begovic, who was offered a new deal by Everton. “I guess it's that time of year; lots of rumours, lots of stories, everything is going around but it's all good fun.
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“The next two weeks will become a little bit clearer. There have definitely been some conversations with certain people, certain clubs and I think in the next few weeks they're going to heat up as June goes on into July and pre-season - we'll see what happens.”
Begovic served under three different managers on Merseyside - Rafa Benitez, Frank Lampard and Sean Dyche. And during his two seasons at the club, the Blues twice stayed up by the skin of their teeth.
Asked about his time at Everton, Begovic told talkSPORT: “Certainly difficult. When I go back two years, people say: 'Why in the world Everton?'
“It's easy to say now but at the time, you were looking at a fantastic football club with a fantastic group of players. When you get in there, you realise there are bigger issues.
“We obviously had some financial issues and a lot of inconsistency people running the place so that makes it very difficult for the staff and the players.
“One thing I can be proud of is no matter how many people wrote us off or the negativity around the place, we stuck together as a group and players and staff and got the job done.
“By no means is it a success. Everton Football Club - and having seen it first hand, the size of it, the tradition, the fan base - they need to be a top-10 Premier League club and there's no doubt about it.
“There is obviously a bit of a way to go before that can happen once again but I think that's what they deserve to be.”
Begovic added on Dyche: “First and foremost, he was probably the right appointment at the right time. He's a great guy and someone who I got on really well with.
“He has a certain presence, certain way of working - discipline, hard-working, back to basics - and it's what we needed. He does it really well and there were certain players who took to that and that's what gave us the certain success we had.
“He's got a great staff with him. Ian Woan and Steve Stone took most of the sessions and tried to carry over his message. They're a great team, really great people then from my point of view, you have your own little group.
“We had Alan Kelly, goalkeeping coach, who is one of the best in the game and one of the best in the business.A great group, really good staff and they're in great hands going forward.”
