Why should Bristol City sign Tom Heaton from Burnley
According to reports in Bristol Post, Championship club Bristol City have been linked with a move for their former goalkeeper Tom Heaton. The Robins are looking to sign the 32-year-old shot-stopper on a deal for the rest of the season when the January transfer window opens.
The report says that Heaton would be open to dropping down from the Premier League to the Championship with his former club. The England goalie hasn’t featured for Burnley yet, despite returning from injury.
Former England No. 1 Joe Hart has taken that position and has done well to keep the 32-year-old out of the team. Hence, it makes sense for the latter to look out for a possible move out, probably to play some games after being sidelined since the start of the league season.
And here’s why Bristol should look to sign the experienced shot-stopper on a short-term basis:
Bristol City short on goalkeepers
The Robins’ current first-choice goalkeeper Frank Fielding is on the injury table and is yet to feature due to injury and illness. His replacement, Niki Maenpaa, has performed admirably to let the manager breath a sigh of relief. However, the latter has also been sitting out for the past few games with an injury.
This leaves Bristol with youngster Max O’Leary playing between the sticks. This is clearly not an ideal situation for a club that is looking to progress under the management of Lee Johnson.
For that reason, getting someone like Tom Heaton would be ideal for the club. The 32-year-old played 43 games for them during the 2012/13 season, hence, he has the idea of how things go at the Ashton Gate.
The Robins could get a quality shot-stopper who possesses the experience and know-how of playing at the highest level.
From the player’s point of view, with Hart taking over the first-choice role at Turf Moor and Nick Pope due to make a return, it would make sense that he moves out on a temporary basis and play some games.
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He didn’t feature for most parts of the previous season and is yet to play this year, therefore, he should be looking to join a club which requires a goalkeeper in the January window. None better than Bristol, a place where he has already kept goal before.
Thus, this is a move which would be ideal for both parties.