Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly keen on signing the Arsenal-owned goalkeeper Karl Hein.
The 22-year-old is currently on loan at La Liga club Real Valladolid and he has impressed with his performances in Spain. According to Fichajes, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are looking to secure his signature in the coming months, and Arsenal would be willing to sell him for a fee of around €15-20 million.
Chelsea need to bring in a quality backup goalkeeper and Hein seems like the ideal understudy to Robert Sanchez. He could compete with the Spanish goalkeeper for the starting spot now and eventually replace him in the future. Sanchez has been inconsistent with his performances and he has been linked with an exit from the club.
Hein will be looking to join a club where he will get ample first-team action. He is unlikely to get those chances at Arsenal and therefore he could be attracted to the idea of leaving the North London club permanently. He will probably fancy his chances of dislodging Sanchez from the Chelsea starting lineup as well.
It will be interesting to see if Chelsea come forward with an offer to sign the player. The asking price is quite affordable for a club with their resources.
Spurs keen on Karl Hein
Meanwhile, Tottenham are keeping tabs on his development and it will be interesting to see if they can promise him ample first-team exposure. They have Guglielmo Vicario as the first-choice keeper at the club and the Italian has done quite well for them. However, he has struggled while dealing with set pieces and it remains to be seen whether he can cut out the weaknesses from his game.
Hein could be the ideal competition for the Italian. The competition for places could help both players improve.
It will be interesting to see where the Arsenal goalkeeper ends up.