Maarten Stekelenburg failed to make a Premier League appearance for Everton last season and has been linked with Ligue 1 side Lille.
Maarten Stekelenburg made just three appearances in all competitions for Everton last season. So it was little surprise when France Football reported a fortnight ago that the 35-year-old Dutchman could be on his way out of Goodison Park.
It was reported that Lille want an experienced goalkeeper after narrowly avoiding relegation to Ligue 2 last season by virtue of a single point. And Les Dogues’ sporting director, Luis Campos. was understood to be considering a move for Stekelenburg.
But has Everton’s new manager Marco Silva dropped the biggest hint yet about whether the former Fulham and Southampton man will still be at Goodison Park next season?
“I would like to work with 22 players and three goalkeepers,” Silva said in quotes reported by the Liverpool Echo.
As it stands, there are only two senior goalkeepers on Everton’s books, Stekelenburg and Jordan Pickford, after the Spaniard Joel Robles returned home to Real Betis.
And, with Silva keen to add one more, it would suggest that Stekelenburg is unlikely to follow Robles (below) out the exit door before the transfer window slams shut in a fortnight.
Formerly of Roma, Monaco and PSV, Stekelenburg has made a few rare appearances for Everton in pre-season, with Pickford absent on the back of England’s run to the semi-finals of the World Cup in Russia.
Stekelenburg started against reported suitors Lille last week, as Everton were beaten on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the Algarve Cup.
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