Aston Villa reportedly wanted to bring Heaton to the Championship before signing Croatia international goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic.
Tom Heaton produced one of the finest goalkeeping performances of the current Premier League season on Saturday.
The England international rolled back the years as Burnley beat Brighton 3-1 at The Amex, making a series of superb stops including a remarkable reflex save to turn a close-range Solly March effort around the post.
It was the sort of display that established Heaton as one of the Premier League’s top custodians before he dislocated his shoulder in the autumn of 2017. And it should not have gone unnoticed at Aston Villa.
Because, according to the Express, Villa were keen to bring Heaton to the Midlands in the January transfer window, with Dean Smith looking for a goalkeeper who would prove to be an upgrade on the unconvincing Orjan Nyland.
On Saturday’s form, Heaton could have been the best goalkeeper in the Championship, providing a platform for Villa to seal a dream return to the top flight.
Instead, however, Villa turned to Croatian number one Lovre Kalinic, paying £7 million to sign the 6ft 7ins man-mountain from KAA Gent (the Telegraph)
The jury is certainly still out, however. Kalinic has looked a little nervy and error-prone since arriving and was caught in no-man’s land on numerous occasions in Friday’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Sheffield United.
How different could things have been with Heaton between the sticks?
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