Birmingham City are looking for another goalkeeper to complete their department for next season
Radek Vitek during his loan at Bristol City
Radek Vitek during his loan at Bristol City
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Birmingham City have two goalkeepers signed up for next season – now they need to find their forever goalkeeper.
Third choice stopper Brad Mayo, 21, has signed a new two-year contract to continue his education under goalkeeping coach Maik Taylor, Ryan Allsop and whoever the new glovesman is.
There are plenty of proven Championship goalkeepers to choose from for Blues and their rivals this summer.
James Beadle, who kept goal for Blues last season, is likely to undertake the fourth Championship loan of his short career in the hope of emulating Brighton colleague Carl Rushworth.
Rushworth enjoyed an extraordinary season for Coventry City to win the Golden Glove and the Championship title and he now has a price tag of £20million with clubs fighting over him.
Anthony Patterson has been made available by Sunderland and, at 26, has plenty of experience under his belt now. A reported price tag of £8-10m might not be appreciated by Patterson’s Championship suitors though.
A more affordable option for Blues might be Radek Vitek, the Manchester United youngster who excelled between the sticks for Bristol City last season.
Vitek kept 12 clean sheets in 41 Championship games – a tally only bettered by three goalkeepers – and won Bristol City’s Player of the Year award.
His 72 percent save percentage put him in the top-eight Championship goalkeepers last season in terms of shot-stopping and the two goalkeepers who made more saves than Vitek’s 133 played four more games apiece.
The Athletic reports that Vitek, now 22, is expected to want first team football after his successful loan at Bristol City and that could come by way of another loan or a permanent transfer.
Signing goalkeepers on loan is a risk that is rarely worth taking without the guarantee of a buy option at the end of the deal.
You either end up developing a goalkeeper that is learning on the job – and accepting that he will make mistakes – or you provide a player with a platform to excel and increase his transfer value so that you have to pay more to sign him permanently the following year.
A permanent deal for Vitek should absolutely appeal to Blues.
They would be signing a goalkeeper with a high ceiling, who is proven in the Championship, and shouldn’t come with the premium that you pay for young English players.
The Czech stopper has two years remaining on his contract at Old Trafford and is valued at around £5m on Transfermarkt – a tool used by some clubs to calculate squad values.
Blues haven’t shelled out that kind of fee on a goalkeeper since they bought Ben Foster from United in 2010.
There are other goalkeepers who will be available for less, such as Illan Meslier who is a free agent after leaving Leeds United and would bring the experience of two promotion-winning campaigns.
But Vitek is a goalkeeper on the rise and Blues need a number one capable of matching the club’s intended trajectory.
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