On a Free...
The return of the Premier League was not short of controversy and debate with a focus on several players, notably for Burnley following their 5-0 defeat at Manchester City, who are still uncertain of their futures with contracts expiring at the end of this month.
Burnley named just seven from a possible nine substitutes (two of those being goalkeepers) with a number of first team options fast approaching the cut off point, whilst Arsenal on the other hand have confirmed that David Luiz has extended his contract past the 30th, much the bewilderment of social media.
The transfer market will undoubtably be impacted by the strain on the finances of professional clubs, so we take a look at some of the goalkeepers your club could approach who will be available on a free this summer.
Joe Hart
Of the aforementioned Burnley players, the club have confirmed that Joe Hart will not be offered an extension on his deal that is up in a matter of days.
Hart has been a mixed bag since losing the number one shirt at Manchester City, with spells in the Premier League with West Ham and Burnley.
However, despite his inconsistency, Hart still has a reputation from his tenure at the Etihad and the for the England side where he was first choice for several years.
Another club may take a chance on him in the hope of showing glimpses of the Joe Hart of old, or at the very least act as decent back-up.
Claudio Bravo
Hart’s would-be-successor, Claudio Bravo has played second fiddle to Ederson for much of his time at Manchester City, having failed to grasp the opportunity handed to him by Pep Guardiola.
Bravo has still had an impressive career and has won pretty much everything club football has to offer and already has potential suiters sniffing round him, one of them rumoured to be Arsenal.
At thirty-seven, the Costa Rican is no spring chicken, but with a couple of seasons left in him he would be a low-risk signing for a Premier League side seeking cover and a good mentor for any young ‘keeper coming through the ranks.
Antonio Adan
The ‘Goalie Factory’ or Atletico Madrid, have been a hotbed of goalkeeping talent for years, and Jan Oblak’s cover, Antonio Adan, could well have potential suiters lining up for the out-of-contract ‘keeper on the club’s reputation of producing quality in this position.
The former Spain Under-21 international was captain at Real Betis for five seasons before making the move to Madrid and despite making only two league appearances for Diego Simeone, has a very respectable record to boast.
Now thirty-three, Adan has a good few years left in him and would be a shrewd bit of business to bring in for nothing.
Rafal Gikiewicz
Rafal Gikiewicz (who also featured in our recent Bundesliga GK Spotlight) will not be in the market for long and many clubs in Germany have already been making moves to sign the Union Berlin goalkeeper at the end of the Bundesliga season.
The Poland international looks likely to leave the club in the summer, having impressed in Union’s successful first campaign in the top-flight, which has been built on solid defensive foundations.
No doubt that the Berliners will be lamenting the decision to only offer him a two-year deal when signing Gikiewicz from Freiburg in 2018, and the interest from bigger clubs is unlikely to make him stay in the capital for too long.
