Everton’s recent slump in results has been matched with a decline in form from their number one Maarten Stekelenburg.

The Dutch goalkeeper was at fault when his side lost a goal to Manchester United this weekend. The thirty-four year old inexplicably ran off his line to chase down a ball he was never getting to and that saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic expertly lob the outrushing goalie.

Thankfully for Maarten, Marouane Fellaini did his old club a turn and gave them a penalty that rescued the home team a point late on.

When the Toffees snapped up Stekelenburg on a free this summer, I automatically assumed he was being brought in as a decent deputy and that they’d bring in a more accomplished main keeper.

But alas that didn’t happen.

The Dutchman did well in his first month or so at Goodison. But as the season has continued it has became more and more obvious that Stekelenburg isn’t good enough to keep the jersey for the rest of the season.

So I’d imagine that Everton boss Ronald Koeman will be desperate to add a new goalkeeper, once the January transfer window opens.

Here are five men that might interest the Toffee’s gaffer:

JORDAN PICKFORD

The Sunderland youngster has been one of their better performers this term.

He got his chance when Vito Mannone was out injured earlier in the season and Pickford hasn’t looked back since. His performances have caught the eye and he’s already received an England call-up this term.

His stunning save late on against Premier League champions Leicester City helped secure a vital win for his Sunderland side this weekend. His ability to do well in tough circumstances will be well noted by potential suitors.

Interestingly Black Cats boss David Moyes hasn’t ruled out selling the twenty-two year old in January:

‘I hope it won’t be too difficult to resist a January offer,’

 ‘But sometimes on the journey of building clubs up, these things happen.’

Basically Moyes will have to look at any big offer, knowing he has a big rebuilding job to do at the Stadium of Light.

That could allow Everton the chance to tempt Jordan away, especially if they can promise him a regular starting spot.

The big questions will be how much would it take to prise away the young keeper and would Koeman be wary of his lack of experience?

TOM HEATON

Another English goalkeeper that has been very impressive this season, actually he’s been impressive for the past few seasons to be fair.

Has more experience than Pickford and definitely looks ready to move up a level. The thirty year old now has two caps to his name and always looks reliable and calm under any pressure.

Had a terrific game against his former side Man United in October, when his saves frustrated the life out of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Has that great ability to spread himself like Man Utd legend Peter Schmeichel.

The Great Dane himself has been impressed with Heaton:

Tom Heatons save from Ibrahimovic is in my opinion one of the best in @premierleague history. Just saying!

— Peter Schmeichel (@Pschmeichel1) October 29, 2016

Everton fans will have watched and admired his clean-sheet against rivals Liverpool.

Might cost big money to get him from Burnley but if Everton are serious about progressing then they’ll need to splash the cash on a good goalkeeper.

ASMIR BEGOVIC

The Bosnian had five fine years with Stoke City before his move to Chelsea in 2015.

His two seasons at Stamford Bridge have seen Begovic mainly seen as Thibaut Courtois’ deputy. Twenty-nine year old Begovic did manage twenty-five appearances last term but has only appeared in three League Cup games this term.

The lack of first team football might mean that Asmir is now ready to move on and would probably want to remain in the Premier League, given the chance. West Ham have recently been linked with the international goalie.

Possess great shot-stopping qualities and is also decent at picking out strikers with early passes which might work well with Romelu Lukaku and Yannick Bolasie.

Could be a great time for Begovic to prove himself as a top keeper again but it remains to be seen if title chasing Chelsea would be willing to sell their number two in January.

STEPHANE RUFFIER

The Saint-Etienne shot-stopper has been extremely impressive so far this term both in Ligue 1 and in the Europa League.

Ruffier has managed to gain three caps for the French national team but is usually an understudy to the likes of Steve Mandanda and Hugo Lloris.

Another experienced goalkeeper that has brilliant reflexes. He hardly misses a game for ASSE, so could become the next Tim Howard at Goodison.

Consistently one of Ligue 1’s top keepers and he has kept nine cleansheets in all competitions so far in this campaign.

Stephane has already expressed an interest in playing for an English club but it will be interesting to see if his club are willing to let him go this winter, although they’d probably prefer to sell him to Everton rather than Olympique Marseille who are also interested in the six foot two man.

MATTIA PERIN

Like a few more Italian goalkeepers in the last sixteen or so years, Perin is constantly compared to the great Gianluigi Buffon. Obviously no one really compares to Buffon but it seems to be that either Perin or AC Milan’s Gianluigi Donnarumma will one day replace the legendary Juve man.

At Genoa, Mattia has been their regular number one since the 2013-14 season and he has continually impressed.

The twenty-four year old is well noted for his concentration levels, his close range shot-stopping and his ability to save from the spot.

He has managed to keep four cleansheets in his eleven outings in Serie A this season. That includes the 3-0 win that Rossoblu recorded over AC Milan in October.

According to his agent, it could take a bid in the region of €20m to get Genoa around the table to talk about a sale.

So there you have my list of goalkeepers I think Koeman should target this January. 

If you are an Everton fan then feel free to let me know who you’d like in between the sticks for your club in 2017!

 

Posted on December 5th, 2016 by scott
Filed under: Article