Jens Lehmann does not feel that Victor Valdes or Iker Casillas would last long in the Premier League.
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has taken the correct step to light a fire under Joe Hart after 18 months of indifferent form. He has recently dropped the England international for Romanian giant Costel Pantilimon in the Premier League.
It seems to have done the trick, if you go by his recent performance for England v Germany – where he made a number of top saves despite overall succumbing to defeat.
But that has not stopped plenty of interest reportedly being registered in big name goalkeepers from around Europe – including the top two from Spain.
Real Madrid stopper Iker Casillas has lost his first-team place at the Santiago Bernabeu, after the form of Diego Lopez demoted him to back-up.
Meanwhile Barcelona custodian Victor Valdes has already expressed an interest in moving away from his Catalan club when his contract expires next summer – something he has now informed the club.
And both have been linked with a move to The Etihad in the past couple of weeks – for obvious reasons.
But one man who knows a little something about how to tend goal in the Premier League has now had his say on the matter,
Jens Lehmann played for Arsenal in the Premier League for five years and again briefly during an injury crisis in 2011. In that time he was named the best goalkeeper in Europe in 2006 – and won the Premier League, FA Cup and FA Community Shield with The Gunners. So he knows something about goalkeeping.
And in his opinion the two Spanish internationals way very well be world-class – but Lehmann simply feels they do not fit the mould necessary to dominate their area in the Premier League:
“Iker Casillas, for example, would not do well. Neither would Victor Valdes, because the referees do not protect you and the players there are much taller. I’m not saying Casillas and Valdes are not top ‘keepers, but in England they would have it bad, very bad.”
image: © Gerard Reyes
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