Arsenal Transfers: 5 Alternatives To £10m Victor Valdes
The Sun, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is considering a summer transfer move for unsettled Barcelona stopper Victor Valdes. The story, which has been picked up by almost every major news outlet, claims that Barca have agreed to allow the Spain international to leave the Nou Camp a year early from his contract expiring providing a club will offer £10 million. Certainly the 31 year old custodian has expressed his desire to experience a different culture, and having been at the club since 1995, he has been a player whose loyalty is beyond reproach. He is regarded to be one of the best goalkeepers in Barcelona's history, having won a total of 19 titles including five La Liga titles, three Champions League titles, and two Copa del Rey titles. He also has won the Zamora Trophy a record five times. He currently holds the club records as goalkeeper with most appearances in the league and in official competition, breaking Andoni Zubizarreta's records during the 201112 season, and is now past the 350 games mark. Given the growing pains of Wojciech Szczesny and the unreliability of Vito Mannone and Lukasz Fabianski, and Wenger's long standing pursuit of Pepe Reina, it is a potential signing that appears to make sense, especially given the poor form of the Liverpool keeper. There are, however, stumbling blocks. Matching Valdes current salary (let alone surpassing it), would make him the highest paid player at the club, and at 31, and having played for so long from such a young age, there is a strong possibility that he has reached the ceiling of his potential performance level. Equally importantly, he is relatively short for a goalkeeper at 6 feet tall, and his weakness at crosses has been exposed in La Liga and in Europe, both of which are much more forgiving environments than the penalty box rough and tumble of England. There are also the usual issues of adapting to another country to consider, and although Spurs have managed Hugo Lloris' integration well, many overseas goalkeepers have struggled initially to adapt to the Premier League. With this in mind, there are a number of better options for the club to choose in providing competition for Szczesny. Click next to begin...