Premier League outfit Everton are expected to trim Carlo Ancelotti’s squad in the summer with Maarten Stekelenburg facing an uncertain future.
Everton could release veteran goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg when his contract expires in the summer, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Life as a back-up shot-stopper is never easy. Just ask Stekelenburg.
A 37-year-old who started between the sticks for Holland in the 2010 World Cup final has not made a single Premier League appearance for Everton since a 1-0 defeat to Swansea City three years ago, a game in which Ross Barkley, Enner Valencia and Kevin Mirallas also featured.
Quite a while ago, then.
The arrival of Jordan Pickford in the summer of 2017 pushed Stekelenburg down the pecking order and, with Jonas Lossl expected to return to Merseyside following a loan spell at Huddersfield Town, the former Fulham, Ajax and Roma ‘keeper appears to have played his final game in Everton colours already.
He is due to become a free agent in the summer and the Liverpool Echo reports that the 58-time Dutch international is unlikely to be handed fresh terms.
Stekelenburg never felt like a long-term solution anyway at Everton and, despite one outstanding performance against Manchester City which Ronald Koeman described as ‘fantastic’, his debut season at Goodison Park was littered with mistakes.
To some, he will always be associated with an error which handed Sadio Mane a stoppage-time winner in a 1-0 home defeat to bitter rivals Liverpool in 2016.
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