Championship outfit Aston Villa reportedly agreed a fee to sign giant Croatian goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic for £4.9m in 2016.
Aston Villa are in their third season in the Championship now and, barring that excellent 18-month loan spell from Sam Johnstone, the goalkeeping situation has stirred plenty of debate and not necessarily for the right reasons.
Pierluigi Gollini arrived amid huge expectations, and comparisons to Gianluigi Buffon, but returned to Italy just half a season later after struggling to adapt to the physicality of English football.
Mark Bunn, meanwhile, was never anything more than a stop-gap while Orjan Nyland’s time between the sticks since his summer arrival from Ingolstadt can perhaps best be described as ‘mixed’.
But what can Aston Villa fans learn from Lovre Kalinic’s performance for Croatia against Spain in Thursday’s thrilling UEFA Nations League clash.
The Birmingham Mail reported that Villa had agreed a £4.9 million fee to sign the 6ft 7ins goalkeeper from Hajduk Split in January 2016 – and the 28-year-old is now Croatia’s number one following the international retirement of Daniel Subasic.
But would Kalinic have been Villa’s number one for years to come, a natural successor to Brad Friedel, Nigel Spink and co? Well, perhaps not.
Though one 90 minute display represents a small sample size, Kalinic looked a little nervy throughout against La Roja. His poor handling gifted Iago Aspas a glorious chance which clattered off the bar while his distribution from the back was hardly impressive either – something that would’ve given Dean Smith jitters.
Yes, Kalinic made a few smart saves as Croatia stormed to a famous 3-2 win – but he hardly looked like one that got away for Aston Villa. More Gollini than Johnstone perhaps.
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