Vicario undergoes ankle surgery

[Donki]

Think people are a little tad harsh on Forster. He’s a seasoned pro and not a lot wrong with him as a backup keeper. He is solid enough IMO, we had a hell worse first team keepers in the past.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Are any of these free agents viable options do you guys think?

• Keylor Navas remains a free agent after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired at the end of the 2023-24 season. Formerly with Real Madrid and Nottingham Forest, he is now 37 years old.
• Loris Karius, 31, was released by Newcastle at the end of last season. The former Liverpool goalkeeper has not endured a season with regular football since 2019-20, when he was at Besiktas.
• Darren Randolph, 37, has not made any appearances over the last four seasons, the last two of which were with Bournemouth before they released him.
• 35-year-old former Barcelona product Jordi Masip spent seven years at Valladolid, the last being in the Spanish second tier in which he started frequently.
• Now 37, Wayne Hennessey was released by Nottingham Forest in the summer, after spending a decade as a Premier League player.

Might be viable in terms of attainability, but probably not in terms of being an upgrade on Forster.

 

[Donki]

Are any of these free agents viable options do you guys think?

• Keylor Navas remains a free agent after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired at the end of the 2023-24 season. Formerly with Real Madrid and Nottingham Forest, he is now 37 years old.
• Loris Karius, 31, was released by Newcastle at the end of last season. The former Liverpool goalkeeper has not endured a season with regular football since 2019-20, when he was at Besiktas.
• Darren Randolph, 37, has not made any appearances over the last four seasons, the last two of which were with Bournemouth before they released him.
• 35-year-old former Barcelona product Jordi Masip spent seven years at Valladolid, the last being in the Spanish second tier in which he started frequently.
• Now 37, Wayne Hennessey was released by Nottingham Forest in the summer, after spending a decade as a Premier League player.

Don’t really see any stand outs, Navas would demand silly salary. If we want a new back up keeper. Which I don’t really think is needed, we go youth, you can’t be paying a player over £100k a week to sit there. Do we still not have Whiteman? Feel it’s silly having home grown players and never use them.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Don’t really see any stand outs, Navas would demand silly salary. If we want a new back up keeper. Which I don’t really think is needed, we go youth, you can’t be paying a player over £100k a week to sit there. Do we still not have Whiteman? Feel it’s silly having home grown players and never use them.

I think the next couple of months will be very telling in terms of whether Whiteman is on the books for any reason other than being HG / academy trained. Forster has been rotated in for half of our cup games so far this season, but I don't expect to see this happening with Whiteman while Vicario is out. If we bring someone in on a short-term loan in January, it will be clear that Whiteman isn't trusted.

Forster is 36 and his contract expires at the end of the season. Theoretically, we could sign a younger replacement for him in January (permanent or loan with an option), then release Forster in the summer.

Like you, I wouldn't see the logic behind signing another aging GK who hasn't been playing regularly.