Former Manchester City goalkeeper prefers Chelsea over Newcastle United — report

At first glance, this one’s one of those random links that seem to sprout up every half hour during the summertime. Take a couple darts and a couple dartboards, spin the magic wheel of transfer rumors and see what falls out. Willy Caballero to Chelsea? Don’t make me laugh.

But then you give it a bit of thought, and realize that it fits rather perfectly into Chelsea’s recent m.o. as far as backup goalkeepers are concerned. Experienced? Check. Still capable to a certain degree? Check. Cheap? Check. Last name begins with a ‘C’? Check. Not homegrown? Check, sadly. Petr Čech? Nope, that’d be too perfect.

So that’s the Times running with the story that former Manchester City backup goalkeeper Willy Caballero would prefer to move to Chelsea over Newcastle, even though the Magpies are offering more money and possibly more playing time for the 35-year-old. At Chelsea, Willy would fill the boots of Begović, who left last week for AFC Bournemouth. He probably wouldn’t play much, but he could keep Eduardo company.

Whatever, I guess. The non-homegrown part would be unfortunate, but not something we haven’t dealt with before (could always use Jamal Blackman or whatever kid from the Academy as a backup in the Champions League, for example, where HG-restrictions tend to be stricter).