Joel Robles has not played a minute of football for Everton this season and a move to Celtic would hand him a fresh start.
Craig Gordon may have taken his game to a whole new level since Brendan Rodgers took over at Celtic in 2016 but it’s easy to forget that he started last season as the club’s second choice.
Dorus De Vries, a goalkeeper Rodgers admired greatly from their time together at Swansea City, had been brought in from Nottingham Forest and was immediately installed as the Scottish champions’ new number one.
A couple of glaring errors and a long-term injury later, however, Gordon returned and has never looked back. De Vries, meanwhile, has not made an appearance for Celtic in 11 months though, at the age of 36, remains the club’s second-choice custodian.
Back-up buy
You wonder whether this is a position Rodgers needs to strengthen in January, therefore. If he does, then Joel Robles has the potential to be one of the finest back-up shot-stoppers around.
The Spaniard looked certain to leave Everton in the summer and, according to The Sun, was even willing to drop down to the Championship after The Toffees paid big money for Jordan Pickford, leaving Joel third choice behind the former Sunderland youngster and Maarten Stekelenburg.
The former Wigan Athletic ‘keeper failed to secure a move away however and, sure enough, has not made a single appearance in all competitions across 2017/18.
And while first-team football wouldn’t be guaranteed at Parkhead as long as Gordon remains fit and healthy, Joel would at least allow Rodgers the luxury of rotating his selection and giving the veteran Scotsman a rest now and again.
Considering that he is out of contract in the summer, and one of the finest reflex stoppers in the Premier League, it is difficult to see how a deal could be anything other than inspired.
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