Dharmesh Sheth: Aston Villa in talks to sign West Ham goalkeeper Darren Randolph
Aston Villa are in talks over a deal to sign West Ham goalkeeper Darren Randolph on loan, according to Dharmesh Sheth.
Randolph, 34, has not made a single appearance for the Hammers across all competitions this season as he’s currently David Moyes’ third-choice goalkeeper.
Sky Sports News journalist Sheth says that if Villa do sign Randolph, they could loan out Jed Steer.
“We’re told they’re in talks to sign the West Ham United goalkeeper Darren Randolph,” said Sheth on Sky Sports News on Monday [10 January], as shown on the Football Daily Twitter account.
“Now, we know that Randolph is currently third choice at the London Stadium before Lukasz Fabianski and Alphonse Areola.
“If a deal can be struck between Aston Villa and West Ham United, then Villa could allow their second-choice goalkeeper Jed Steer to move on loan so that he can get more regular first-team football.”
Worthwhile?
If there’s an injury to Fabianski or Areola, then we’re going to have to rely on someone from the Under-23s to step up and serve as the back-up goalkeeper.
Both Fabianski and Areola have been in good form this season so we cannot see any reason for Moyes to bring Randolph back into the team.
But we can see why he’d want to move away from the London Stadium because if he becomes the second-choice goalkeeper at Villa, he’ll have a better shot of getting some Premier League game-time.
Randolph’s contract doesn’t expire until the end of next season and he’ll turn 35 in May.
It’s fair to say he’s at the back-end of his career and he’ll want to ensure that he doesn’t spend his final years as a player sitting on benches and doing no more than training.
The 50-times Ireland international probably isn’t good enough to be a number one in the Premier League so a step down to the Championship in the summer would be the best move for him.
If he does join Villa, we wish him well. But he’ll have to rely on an injury or something to Emiliano Martinez to get a game.
In other West Ham news, Dean Ashton blasted this player in the win over Leeds and suggested he was cheating.
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