TalkSPORT journalist Alex Crook has confirmed that Aston Villa are trying to do a deal to sign goalkeeper Robin Olsen this month.
The club are active in the January transfer window and have already looked to strengthen Steven Gerrard’s squad with some notable new arrivals.
What’s the latest with Villa?
They have been grabbing headlines all over the place.
Gerrard’s side have signed Philippe Coutinho on loan from Barcelona and have also struck a deal to sign Lucas Digne from Everton.
The club are also being heavily linked with a potential move to sign Yves Bissouma from Brighton & Hove Albion in another deal that would signal the ambition of Gerrard’s management.
However, it seems that there will also be a deal done to secure the signing of an experienced back-up goalkeeper to provide support to Emiliano Martinez.
They had been linked with a deal to sign West Ham United’s Darren Randolph but manager David Moyes appears to have put paid to that with confirmation that an offer had been rejected.
Olsen is currently on loan at Championship club Sheffield United from AS Roma.
He has experience of playing in the Premier League, too, having spent a season on loan at Everton, playing seven times in the top-flight in 2020/21.
And Crook believes that the deal is being sought as Villa look to add some more experience to their ranks.
What has Crook said?
Speaking to GiveMeSport, he said: “Robin Olsen at Sheffield United is someone they’re looking to bring in now just to bring a bit more experience, they want three experienced goalkeepers.”
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Would Olsen be a good signing?
He’s an experienced option.
The goalkeeper isn’t valued all that highly by Transfermarkt, with his value standing at £1.8m, and he’s got the ability to play in the Premier League.
That was proved by his time at Everton, where he was a reliable understudy to Jordan Pickford.
Back-up goalkeepers aren’t necessarily easy to come by, as evidenced by Villa’s failure to sign Randolph, but Olsen seems a realistic option for the club.
It remains to be seen exactly how a deal would work, as he is on loan at Sheffield United until the end of the season, but one has to think that Roma can be convinced to let the stopper go for a fee.
Villa have to try.