Goalkeeper uncertainty at Leicester as Newcastle and Benfica shot stoppers could be on list of several possible targets

Embed from Getty Images

We have earlier said at this website that Daniel Iversen should be the preferred choice, but for some strange reason he was not even given the trust to get the gloves in the Carabao Cup tie vs. MK Dons.

We have seen how Danny Ward has been given trust, but still it looks as if he is not comfortable, being the first team goalkeeper at Leicester at this moment. Martin Dubravka (Newcastle) and Odysseas Vlachodimos (Benfica) are just two of a grand list of goalkeepers that could be on the radar at the moment.

Danny Ward was a major signing when he arrived at Leicester in 2018, with a cost of £11million. Still, against his former club at Anfield, he showed lack of leadership, bringing little or no command as Wout Faes made a few silly mistakes, that could have been avoided with a trusted goalkeeper behind him.

Leicester have suffered after giving Kasper Schmeichel the blessing to leave and in the long run this looks as a good decision, but short term no replacement has been found and despite the form shown by Daniel Iversen last season and also prior to that at a lower level, getting into the Denmark squad, he is not shown any type of trust from Brendan Rodgers, who has given Danny Ward everything and hoped he would turn his form, something he did before the World Cup break, but still looks nothing like a first choice goalkeeper at this football club.

Martin Dubrawka is a proven Premier League goalkeeper, still not more than 33 years of age and getting games week in and week out, probably one that could be an alternative to solve a bit of a goalkeeper crisis at Leicester at this moment.

Benfica goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos (28) was linked with a move to Leicester in the summer, and still one probably on a short list of candidates. He is a certain first choice for his club and is also a full international for his country Greece, but to see the league leader in Portugal selling in this January window would be a major surprise.

Alex Smithies joined the club after being released by Cardiff in the summer, but looks far from the competition. There are a few other goalkeepers at the club, but they looks far from a first choice act. Jacub Stolarczyk went out on loan to Fleetwood in League One, but so far not been involved. Brad Young is another young goalkeeper currently at National League club Notts County, but so far not been much involved and only named a few times on the bench.

The January transfer window is a tricky one, especially regarding goalkeepers, as it could be risky to let players leave leaving gaps in the squad not being fully filled.

Leicester were linked with Bart Dragowski from Spezia, but he is still out injured and probably not a player that would be looked up on as a short term alternative.

Looking at the situation and not being satisfied with Danny Ward, the best alternative to go for is Daniel Iversen, but at the moment it looks like being Danish is not the best if you are playing for Leicester.

You have a number of goalkeepers of different class and value that contracts expire in 2023, some might be available in this January transfer window, but still a difficult arene to work from.

But to see how Leicester made their step to find their best alternative goalkeeper after Kasper Schmeichel, and let the Dane leave, without a clear idea of what the next goalkeeper should be, makes no one impressed. Danny Ward were given the confidence, but surely he is far from a top class Premier League goalkeeper, being ranked far below most of his competitors in this division.

LATEST BOOK RELEASES

Filbert Way Bookshop

CHECK YOUR FOOTBALL RESULTS

Leicester Live Scores

CHECK YOUR FOOTBALL STORIES AND TRANSFER TALK

Leicester City And More

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress.com.

Up ↑

%d bloggers like this: