West Ham wise to seek keeper but does Tom Heaton fit the bill?

West Ham have been linked to odd-man-out at Burnley, Tom Heaton in their latest transfer rumor for the January transfer window. There is a bit of legwork to be done if West Ham are going to bring in a new keeper, but the jury is still out on if it should even be Heaton.

Why Tom Heaton?

Burnley are in a precarious position with their keepers. Nick Pope, the now capped English keeper, is the heir to Burnley’s keeper throne having usurped Heaton last season. Pope earned his England call-up in Burnley’s impressive Europa qualifying season which heavily relied on his superb play.

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Burnley went ahead and brought in Joe Hart on a permanent deal this offseason because Pope

sustained a shoulder injury in July while playing in Europa qualification. The injury has sidelined him ever since, which has allowed Joe Hart to handle the Premier League duty. Heaton has played in two Europa matches and one Carabao Cup match, but the entire team has been struggling in the early goings of this season.

Hart has done extremely well with Burnley who invested in him on a permanent transfer deal. With Pope being the future and Hart being the veteran backup, Heaton has become expendable.

West Ham’s Keepers

At 32 the argument could be made that Lukasz Fabianski, West Ham’s newest keeper recruit, was brought in to be a gap-bridger, but his play has everyone second guessing that sentiment. Fabianski has been terrific this season and has established him as one of the top keepers in the Premier League. Sure, Fabianski is 32 so he isn’t a long-term solution, but if his game keeps up there is no pressure on West Ham to replace him.

That means Adrian is expendable. To be honest, I would have moved him when West Ham brought in Hart last season just because of his volatile reaction. Adrian couldn’t seem to handle the “disrespect” of a league winning keeper being brought in to his team just months after he had lost his net to a Championship keeper multiple times.

Adrian has done little to hide his desire to return to his native country, Spain, and rejoin his boyhood and former club Real Betis. The feeling was apparently mutual as earlier in 2018 rumors emerged that suggested the club and Adrian were in contact over a future move. Adrian’s contract runs out after this season, so it would be shrewd business if West Ham could get a return on a move for him in January.

Does Heaton make sense for West Ham?

YES – but, please, stay with me here!

West Ham was to be a three-year program with Pellegrini. This would allow him to create and develop his squad as he wants, and provides him time to instill his systems in their play in that time. As little ahead as August of 2020 West Ham’s keeper could be Nathan Trott and a move for Tom Heaton would solidify this.

Heaton wouldn’t light a fire under Fabianski to perform but would act more as a teammate for him to up his level of play in a non-combative or competitive way. Of course, Heaton would be motivated to play, but more realistically he would be West Ham’s regular back up keeper and Cup keeper.

Heaton’s added value comes from his English heritage (ticking the box for domestic talent), and his contribution to Nathan Trott and West Ham’s developing keepers. Both him and Fabianski have long, storied Premier League careers with International experience sprinkled in as well which would create a team of solid keepers to learn from.

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Heaton makes sense to settle a team that will be in flux for the next 2-3 years with veteran leadership from the back line. In the big picture, this is a can’t miss transfer for West Ham. Don’t let the lack of marquee name distract you from the top quality keepers West Ham have in their academy who are likely to be given a shot in the future.

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