Pierluigi Gollini in action for Atalanta, who brought him in from Aston Villa. (imago Images)
According to a report by Sportslens (h/t Liverpool Echo), Everton are the latest club to enter the race for Pierluigi Gollini. The Atalanta goalkeeper is also courting interest from Tottenham Hotspur, while AS Roma, Lazio, Inter Milan, and AC Milan have all enquired about the 26-year-old Italian shot-stopper.
The report states that Atalanta are under no pressure to sell him. Gollini had an impressive season with the Serie A side, where they finished third. But with Jordan Pickford already their established No.1, is this a transfer worth spending their time and money on? Let us find out.
While the Toffees have a stellar No.1 in the form of England international, Jordan Pickford, he doesn’t have any competition or any real backup at the club. Pickford, 27, is the first choice between the sticks for the England national team and it is unlikely Everton would want to displace him from his current role.
But Everton are in desperate need of someone to offer him some competition and play backup for him when needed. The club actually started last season with three senior goalkeepers in Jonas Lossl, Pickford, Robin Olsen.
However, two of them have now departed the club. The Swedish stopper was loaned in last summer from AS Roma and would return to the Italian side for next season. Lossl, who enjoyed two decent loan spells with Huddersfield, was permanently offloaded to FC Midtjylland in the 2021 winter transfer window.
This came after they sold veteran goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg to Ajax last summer. The club is now in a predicament that could require them to dip into the transfer market. And Gollini, the Atalanta goalkeeper, has the experience to slot into Everton’s squad. He even has English links in his professional footballing career.
He was at Manchester United’s youth academy for just over two years before he left for Italy in 2014. After his spell with Hellas Verona, he joined Aston Villa. The Villans loaned him out to Atalanta, who liked what they saw and made his move permanent. And Everton now have the chance to bring the Italian back to England.
Portugal U21 goalkeeper Joao Virginia clearly has some time to go before he can lay claim for that spot. He is the only senior goalkeeper Everton have as of now to replace Pickford but the 21-year-old has just 47 minutes of Premier League action under his belt. He was primarily playing for the U23 Everton side last season.
With 112 appearances for Atalanta already, Gollini has enough experience to become Everton’s number two and offer solid backup to Pickford. But they would have to be quick if they want the Italian goalkeeper in Merseyside for next season, considering the interest in him from the aforementioned clubs.
