Watford could bring in teenager Alban Lafont at the end of the season to rival Heurelho Gomes.
The eccentric Heurelho Gomes celebrates a Watford goal
Watford are looking to sign 18-year-old goalkeeping prodigy Alban Lafont in the summer, it has been reported.
However, according to talkSPORT, the Hornets will face stiff competition from the capital and abroad with Arsenal and Lazio also chasing him.
Lafont became the youngest ever goalkeeper to play in Ligue 1 last season when he made his debut for Toulouse aged just 16 years and 310 days.
A string of impressive performances since have seen him establish himself as the club’s number one and he’s now made more than 50 appearances.
The shot-stopper, who was born in Burkina Faso but has represented France at youth international levels, has kept seven clean sheets this season and would be a long-term replacement for Heurelho Gomes.
The Brazilian turns 36 this week – twice Lafont’s age – and is out of contract at the end of next season so it may make sense for Watford to bring in the new man before then so he has a chance to pick Gomes’ brains and can be phased in gradually if necessary.
Walter Mazzarri has picked Gomes for every league game since arriving at Watford
Costel Pantilimon is the Hornets’ current understudy between the sticks, but he has failed to establish himself as a Premier League number one in spells at Manchester City and Sunderland previously so it’s no surprise to see Watford looking elsewhere for their next goalkeeper.
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