There is no way Joe Hart is on his way to Everton in the next few days, but do the Toffees have a chance of signing the England goalkeeper in the summer?
Sky Sports have reported that Everton, along with Liverpool and West Ham, are keen on signing Hart in the summer. Liverpool are the frontrunners in these transfer speculations, but Everton should be in with a chance at signing the 29-year-old.
Hart was forced out of Manchester City at the start of the season after being publicly criticized and humiliated by Pep Guardiola, the Englishman opting for a loan spell at Torino in Serie A. Guardiola, though he won’t admit it, made a grave miscalculation and the error is costing City on a weekly basis.
Hart is one of the best shot-stoppers in the world and is a dominant presence on all aerial balls. His almost two-meter frame commands respect, and Hart isn’t afraid to clatter into whomever it takes to get to the ball first.
Joel Robles and Maarten Stekelenburg are both excellent keepers in their own right, but Koeman has aspirations of challenging for the Premier League title, and to do so means bringing in the cream of the crop at every position.
Also, Stekelenburg, 34, is seemingly in the twilight of his career, though goalkeepers have been known to excel deep into their 30s.
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Everton have also been linked with Burnley’s Tom Heaton as a viable first-choice keeper for the 2017-18 season.
Hopefully Ronald Koeman can use his magical powers of persuasion to lure Hart to Goodison before Jurgen Klopp gets his sticky hands on the world class keeper.
Then again, if things fall through, I’m quite content with Everton’s current one-two goalkeeper punch. And the prospect of signing Tom Heaton isn’t too shabby either.