Everton could fill problem position with nine free transfers after double departure
Everton need goalkeepers. That is the outcome of the departures of Joao Virginia and Asmir Begovic, who will both leave the Blues when their contracts expire at the end of the month.
Replacing them is another dilemma on a long to-do list for David Moyes. While Jordan Pickford is one of the best first-choice options in the Premier League, Moyes will need to either promote from within or explore the transfer market.
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Given no-one else in the squad has any Premier League experience, it is difficult to foresee Everton not adding at least one keeper with top flight minutes for next season.
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So the ECHO took a look at the shot-stoppers on expiring deals.
The threshold was Premier League experience, which ruled out former England youth keeper Freddie Woodman, who could leave Preston North End, and Ben Winterbottom, who is leaving Brentford after a year in non-league with AFC Fylde. Tom Heaton and Wayne Hennessey, meanwhile, both have more than 100 top flight games to their names but Heaton could yet stay at Manchester United while Hennessey signed a short extension at Nottingham Forest in January as he recovered from an achilles injury.
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Lukasz Fabianski
Having just seen the departures of veterans Ashley Young and Asmir Begovic, David Moyes has lowered the average of his squad - even if Seamus Coleman and Idrissa Gueye, who will turn 37 and 36 respectively later this year - sign new deals with the Blues.
There is one option that could see some of that work undone - though it would mean the acquisition of a player Moyes knows well.
Lukasz Fabianski turned 40 in April and is a free agent with his contract at West Ham United set to expire at the end of the month.
The former Arsenal goalkeeper has kept 92 clean sheets across 372 Premier League appearances and was part of the squad that Moyes won the Europa Conference League with at the Hammers. He appears keen to keep playing - and to do so in England if he can.
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Fraser Forster
Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed Fraser Forster will leave this summer, ending three years at Spurs. He made 34 appearances in total, 13 this season - including four in successful Europa League campaign.
The 37-year-old played most of his top flight games with Southampton but started his career at Newcastle United and is one of a handful of players linked to a move to St James' Park, not just to add depth to the goalkeeping department but also to help the club meet the homegrown quota in their Champions League squad next season. That same reason has been cited for the potential retention of Sean Longstaff, the midfielder who is on Moyes' radar and appears surplus to requirements with the Magpies but who could help them comply with UEFA regulations. Spurs will also release academy product Alfie Whiteman, who made just one first team appearance for them after breaking into the squad for the first time back in 2017.
Scott Carson
Scott Carson has won it all. As back-up keeper at Manchester City his medal collection includes the haul from Pep Guardiola's treble-winning season. That Champions League success was the second he was involved in, the 39-year-old having been on the Liverpool bench in Istanbul back in 2005, when they beat AC Milan on penalties.
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Carson now appears set to leave the Etihad and would not be the first former Liverpool keeper to join the Blues in recent memory - Andy Lonergan having trod that path when he joined Everton in 2021.
Angus Gunn
A much younger option could be Angus Gunn, who was first choice in the Championship with Norwich City for much of the season and is in contention to start for Scotland in their upcoming games.
The 29-year-old has been released by the Canaries and, while he has never held down the starting spot for a Premier League side over a season, he has clocked up almost three dozen top flight games across stints at Southampton and Carrow Road.
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Danny Ward
Another former Liverpool goalkeeper that looks set to be available is Danny Ward. The 31-year-old Wales international played just twice this season for Leicester City but has the experience of being their number one in 2022/23, when Everton pipped the Foxes to survival on the final day of the campaign.
Joe Lumley
Joe Lumley does not have the international experience Gunn and Ward can offer but has just crept into this list by virtue of his three Premier League appearances with Southampton this season.
The 30-year-old did have busy campaigns with Reading and Middlesbrough before then and would be a younger option than most on this list.
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Neto
Going back up the age range, Arsenal confirmed on Wednesday that Neto would be departing this summer. The 35-year-old has been at the Emirates since joining from Bournemouth last year. He did not make a league appearance for the Gunners, but kept 13 clean sheets across 61 Premier League games at Bournemouth.
Neto enjoyed stints at Juventus, Valencia and Barcelona before his move to the south coast and won trophies in Spain and Italy during that time.
John Ruddy
John Ruddy was a back up keeper at Newcastle United this season and the 38-year-old looks set to leave the north east despite receiving praise from Eddie Howe. Next year will mark a decade since he was last the first choice keeper in the top flight, back then with Norwich City.
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He has made 123 appearances in the Premier League though - mostly at Norwich but with a handful at Wolverhampton Wanderers. And a move to Everton at this late stage would see his career come full-circle - Ruddy signed for the Blues as a teenager, though was unable to establish himself in the first team.
Mat Ryan
One further option could be Mat Ryan, who has spent this season in France with Lens. The Australian has 124 Premier League games to his name, almost all with Brighton though he did make three for Arsenal. His contract is due to end this summer. His four years away from England have included time spent at Roma, Copenhagen, Real Sociedad and AZ Alkmaar.
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