Jasper Cillessen piques Aston Villa interest as Valencia plot fire-sale
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Goalkeepers are continually linked with Aston Villa this summer, with the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, who has recently joined Sheffield United for £18,500,000 one of the names that has popped up on a number of occasions.
According to Gregg Evans at The Athletic, the goalkeeper links are definite – Aston Villa are looking to bring in a new goalkeeper to compete with Tom Heaton who will likely not be ready to start at the same time the season does.
Evans continues to state that they are looking for a goalkeeper with Premier League experience; with two targets under consideration that match that criteria. Names have not been mentioned, but the likes of Southampton outcast Fraser Forster – who enjoyed a season long loan to Celtic last season – and recently relegated Ben Foster both spring to mind.
Outside of these players, Aston Villa have an interest in Netherlands international Jasper Cillessen, who is perhaps most famous for being subbed off during a World Cup game in which he kept a clean sheet for 120 minutes before Louis Van Gaal decided to sub on the more experienced Tim Krul for the penalty shoot-out.
The 31-year-old goalkeeper has enjoyed a career playing for the likes of Ajax, Barcelona and more recently Valencia, whilst appearing for the Netherlands 56 times.
He was signed for Barcelona in 2016, before moving to his current club in 2019 in part of a swap deal involving Brazilian stopper Norberto Neto.
Valencia, who finished 9th in this season’s La Liga, are in dire straits financially and this could see the club sell their talent for cut-price values, and with Aston Villa looking to spend no more than £10,000,000 on another goalkeeper, Cillessen could provide excellent value for a relatively low price.
Pepe Reina is not expected to return, whilst Orjan Nyland and Lovre Kalinic look more and more likely to leave as Dean Smith looks to trim his hefty goalkeeping department this season. Jed Steer is likely to remain around as another choice, and still has three years left on his contract.
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By: Regan Foy
Title: Jasper Cillessen piques Aston Villa interest as Valencia plot fire-sale
Sourced From: underagaslitlamp.com/2020/08/20/jasper-cillessen-piques-aston-villa-interest-as-valencia-plot-fire-sale/
Published Date: Thu, 20 Aug 2020 10:04:34 +0000
