Aston Villa want to hold on to veteran goalkeeper Tom Heaton but the England international could push to leave the Premier League outfit in search of more regular game time, as reported by The Athletic.
The former Burnley ace can have no complaints really.
If there’s a better number one in the top flight right now than Emiliano Martinez, we haven’t seen him.
A brilliant shot-stopper who appears to have super-strength magnets woven into the fabric of his goalkeeping gloves, the £20 million Argentina international has been pretty much faultless in 2020/21 – barring one difficult evening against a Jesse Lingard-inspired West Ham that is.
As a result, Heaton has had no choice but to get comfortable on the bench during the past few months.
In fact, the 34-year-old hasn’t featured at all since January 2020 – the infamous 2-1 win at Burnley in which both he and Wesley Moraes suffered serious knee injuries.
According to The Athletic, Aston Villa will offer Heaton a new contract as they look to retain the services of the one-time Manchester United youngster beyond this summer.
His leadership skills are understood to be admired behind the scenes at Bodymoor Heath.
But the seldom-seen, £8 million man has little interest in spending another season on the sidelines. The Athletic adds that Heaton will listen to offers from elsewhere with his current deal due to expire in July.
You’d imagine there would be no shortage of clubs willing to offer a good home to a keeper who was one of the best in the league not so long ago.
But suitors be warned. Heaton is only interested in joining a team where he would be the undisputed number one once more.
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