Crystal Palace have reportedly agreed to pre-contractual terms with Getafe goalkeeper, Vicente Guaita, whose contract with the La Liga outfit will be coming to an end this summer. This obviously is a massive boost for the Eagles who have been craving for a custodian since the winter transfer window.
Roy Hodgson seems to be fed up with the inconsistencies of Julian Speroni and Wayne Hennessey and has been looking for a replacement for the better part of the campaign. Somehow the latter has managed to steal the number one spot from Speroni but he still lacks the top-pedigree talent to make it count on big occasions.
Guaita has been with Getafe for the past 4 seasons and has racked up 111 appearances while maintaining 28 clean sheets. The 31-year-old is a product of the Valencia CF youth academy and also has over 100 appearances for the Oranges.
Clearly, he is not short of top-flight experience and his illustrious years in the Spanish league should have prepared him enough for the challenges of the Premier League. After all, it is always better to settle into your professional boots before making your way into the English top-flight.
This season we have seen Martin Dubravka succeed remarkably well with Newcastle United and he seems close to making a permanent switch to the Tyneside. On the other hand, even highly decorated names like David De Gea struggled to settle in between the Manchester United goal during his primitive years.
Palace does not need another youngster who will need his sufficient adjustment period. Hodgson needs a leader who will hit the ground running right on his arrival and will be able to solidify the backline.
The Eagles have managed to save themselves from relegation this campaign due to their impressive work in the latter half of the campaign. They managed to put a real fight against top sides like Manchester United and Liverpool but unfortunately could not hold onto their leads to see out the wins.
That inspiring run helped them to bounce back against some of the lower tier sides and even demolish Leicester City by 5 goals to nil last month. Instead of just scraping by in the final stretch of the season, Hodgson has pushed the team back into the 11th spot of the points table with an 8-point gap over the relegation zone.
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Similar results might be hard to achieve without bolstering the squad in the summer window. Guaita is sure to give them that defensive rigidity to grind out results against top-flight clubs.
