Why Everton must offload veteran goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg
According to Liverpool Echo, out-of-favour goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg is braced for an Everton exit after four seasons at the Merseyside club.
37-year-old Stekelenburg’s current contract at Goodison Park is set to expire this June and the veteran does not expect his club to hand him a new deal. Despite joining the Toffees back in 2016 from Fulham, the Dutch shot-stopper has made only 26 appearances across all competitions. Jordan Pickford has established himself as the side’s first-choice man.
The veteran custodian has not made a single appearance for Everton this season, giving a clear indication that his time at Goodison Park is nearing an end.
He featured just twice altogether last season for the Toffees, indicating that his presence at the Merseyside club is not a matter of major concern.
Stekelenburg surplus to requirements at Everton
Except for this season, Pickford has been so dominant in between the sticks for the Toffees since arriving from Sunderland in 2017, that opportunities have been very rare for Stekelenburg.
To add to his miseries, Everton also bought Jonas Lossl last summer as a back-up for Pickford. However, the Toffees agreed to send him on loan to Huddersfield Town in January in a bid to grab more game time.
Though Stekelenburg retained his position as the side’s second-choice keeper, the rise of Everton’s young goalkeeper Joao Virginia has put his position under jeopardy. Virginia, who currently plays for the Toffees under-23 side recently returned in January after finishing his loan spell at Reading and is waiting in line to make his break into the first-time line-up.
Moreover, the return of Lossl at the end of this season could see Stekelenburg fall even behind the line ahead of next season. That said, the Dutchman clearly looks surplus to the club’s requirements at the moment.
With opportunities looking even more vague in the coming days, Everton would be doing themselves a favour by offloading Stekelenburg, who is nearing the end of his career.
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Verdict
Despite joining the side almost four years back, Stekelenburg has failed to establish himself at Everton all this while. Also, he will turn 38 this September, and Everton would be better off without him. Also, with Virginia showing some potential and eager to make his break, it’s high time Everton offloaded their unwanted veteran.
