New ‘Keeper Needed To Help Cure Everton’s Defensive Woes

Jul 1, 2014; Salvador, Bahia, BRAZIL; Belgium forward Romelu Lukaku (9), one of two goal scorers, smiles as he passes United States goalkeeper Tim Howard (1) during extra time of Belgium

Little by little Everton need to sort out their current conundrum – but they’ll need to show some extra urgency if they want to see immediate positivity on the field of play.

The end of December saw first-choice goalkeeper Tim Howard ruled out for up to six weeks, meaning that an already over-worked physiotherapy room was to receive yet another patient they could really have done without.

A star at last summer’s World Cup finals, the USMNT custodian was one of his nation’s stand-out performers, and with his position between the posts pretty much guaranteed, it looked as though he was ready to help his club continue to push for progress.

But, as we know, their journey hasn’t panned out as smoothly as last season.

And now, Howard has been forced to watch from the sidelines as Everton have crumbled under the strain of the busy recent period. Absent for both their 3-2 defeat at the hands of Newcastle United as well as for their 2-0 loss against Hull City, he’s been unusually helpless to their plight.

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Standing in for him has been Joel Robles, and although he’s really had a torrid time since coming on board, it remains difficult to really figure out just how good, bad or indifferent a shot-stopper he is.

Getting his first taste of first-team action in the Europa League defeat to Kuban Krasnodar, the 24-year-old made an absolute howler when he allowed Colombian attacker Ricardo Lombarde time and space to turn and shoot to score at the ‘keeper’s near post. In truth, he should have closed him down a lot sooner and given him next to no freedom to pivot – ever since then, the young goalkeeper has been on a downward spiral.

And confidence in his capabilities are now at a severe low.

Again, it’s vitally important that Roberto Martinez looks to the current January transfer window as the perfect time to replenish and galvanize his squad. Bringing in a tried and tested net-minder would probably be the best option to help them steady their capsizing ship, but it’s not the only avenue they appear to be looking down.

As reported by TalkSport a few weeks back, they’ve got their eye on Sampdoria man Sergio Romero.

Vying for contention with fellow team-mate Emiliano Viviano, he’s only managed to keep one clean sheet this season. And although his chances to perform have been limited, his record this season remains unconvincing.

If The Toffees were to bring him on board, they’d need to at least give him five or six matches to settle, by which time Howard would likely have returned from injury. Sadly, time is not exactly on their side right now and with all things considered, Romero is probably not the answer to their woes.

If they were forced to plump for someone without pedigree or a lengthy resume of experience, they could do worse than to go after a man who’s been dubbed ‘The New Neuer’. Loris Karius is a 21-year-old ‘keeper who’s coming to the end of his contract with FAV Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga and, as speculated by The Mirror, has been linked with a move to Arsenal.

Only Bill Kenwright can really intervene. And if he plumps up enough cash they could well see themselves come out the other side of a battle of chequebooks against the North London club.

Which goalkeeper do you think Everton should bring in?