Victor Valdes had made enough noises when he announced that he would leave Barcelona and that it would be his last season at Camp Nou. The long serving Barcelona shotstopper stated that he was feeling uncomfortable at the club and something went missing as he suggested that he would love to move out of the club, to preferably a South American club, from where his wife hails. (Although he was linked with a host Premier League clubs)
And now reports have emerged that Barcelona will eye Chelsea keeper Petr Cech next season as a possible replacement of Valdes. The Barca management believes that they would need a ready made replacement for the Spanish and Cech has all the credentials to succeed at the Catalan club. Cech is considered as one of the best keepers of the Premier League and he is tipped to be extremely successful at Camp Nou.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, on the other hand, is trying to line a replacement for Cech and has Valdes on his mind. The Mirror reports that Chelsea and Barcelona could be swapping goalkeepers in the January transfer window.
Petr Cech heading out of the club may be good news for Thibaut Courtois who is now plying his trade at Atletico Madrid on a loan spell. The 21-year old keeper has won many accolades for his performance with the La Liga side. But Mourinho pursuing Valdes when he already has the next best thing is a highly debatable scenario. And even with Cech, at 31 the keeper is still at the peak of his career and his performances have never really gone down.
While the big question still remains, it is alleged that a contract offer in the region of €10million-per-year is thought to be on the table, with Valdes still to receive several offers from French giants Monaco and Paris Saint Germain.
Lets look at some stats here from the previous season:
Cech from his 36 league appearances managed to keep 14 clean sheets while Valdes from 31 managed 8. The Avg. saves per game stands at 1.75 and 1.55 respectively. Although the defensive setup ahead of the keepers plays an important role here.
An overall performance score, courtesy of Squawka for a short comparison.
In other news, Everton manager Roberto Martinez believes that Romelu Lukaku, who moved to the Toffees on a season long loan from Chelsea in the final minutes of the transfer window, would be extremely successful with the side and that he would fire in the goals that Everton have clearly been lacking in the league so far.
“I think it’s fair to say that our opening three performances in the league have been really, really good, but all they have been lacking is that goal, the ball hitting the back of the net. The fans realise that and when you see a player arrive who is capable of doing that it excites you. He could be that little piece which completes the puzzle,” Mrtinez said to Liverpool Echo.