The 30-year-old remains consistent as ever for Norwich City – Aston Villa can only dream of possessing a goalkeeper with such reliability.
Aston Villa’s goalkeeping gripes are well publicised. From the lightweight Pierluigi Gollini to error-prone loanee Sam Johnstone via unconvincing understudy Mark Bunn, Steve Bruce has handed opportunities to three separate shot-stoppers this season without avail.
And the fact that goalkeeping errors have cost Villa an alarming eleven points this season, as reported by the Birmingham Mail, offers a suggestion as to where the club should probably consider strengthening in the summer market.
Fortunately, there is a goalkeeper available who knows all about life in the second tier. In fact, he’s escaped from the Championship on two separate occasions, once as a runner-up and once via the play-offs. He’s experienced at 30-years-old and, to top it off, has an England cap to boot.
And, just to make the prospect even more tantalising, Norwich City’s John Ruddy is out of contract in the summer.
It may be almost five years since the former Everton youngster made his international bow in a 2-1 triumph over Italy in Bern, Switzerland, but Ruddy is a proven shot-stopper in the top two tiers of English football having excelled with The Canaries across four Premier League and three Championship campaigns.
Furthermore, although his reputation has declined somewhat thanks to a string of injuries, he remains one of the most reliable ‘keepers around, holding off competition from Northern Ireland’s Euro 2016 hero Michael McGovern to retain his place between the sticks.
And with his deal due to expire in June, and Villa facing the prospect of heading into the summer without a clue as to the identity of their first-choice goalkeeper, the 30-year-old could go some way to solving their problem position.
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