Baby talk hint boosts chances of Arsenal or Man City signing keeper
Published:The summer transfer window may be over, but this has not cooled any speculation as to whether Iker Casillas will still be a Real Madrid player at the end of the season.
A change of manager to Carlo Ancelotti was widely expected to bring a return to the Madrid first-team for Casillas, but he still finds himself on the bench, playing second fiddle to Diego Lopez.
The fact that Casillas is not tall enough is one possible reason suggested for his lack of game time and if he wasn’t given any assurances over the summer that he was little more than a squad player, it is a slight surprise that he remained at the club.
Arsenal and Manchester City were two of the clubs linked and there is still the possibility that they could enter negotiations in January, even though the Gunners have brought in Emiliano Viviano on loan.
And the case that Casillas is looking to move in January has only been strengthened by his girlfriend Sara Carbonero.
Carbonero is currently pregnant with the couple’s child and according to Spanish newspaper Marca, she stated at a lingerie event: “I don’t know whether my child will be born in Madrid or outside Spain; now’s not the time to talk about that.”
Experience is the obvious thing that Casillas will bring to any side he potentially moves to, given that he is Spain’s most capped player, but whether his skill-set is suited to the Premier League is not a definite.
He is not always the most commanding of keepers and does lack a little bit of physical presence, but he comes into his own in terms of reactions and footwork.
Viviano is only on loan at Arsenal and should Casillas show interest in a move to London, he must logically become the number-one target. Meanwhile, at Man City, much will hinder on whether Joe Hart reduces his error count.
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