According to The Liverpool Echo, Everton have signed Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hilton; whilst The Daily Star report that January signing Alexandre Pato is close to making his Chelsea debut.
The 6 foot 5 ‘keeper is just 16 years of age but has already represented the Citizens at U18 level and is reportedly ‘highly-rated’ by the coaches involved at the Etihad academy.
But the Toffees have now signed Hilton on a two-year scholarship, bolstering an already promising selection of young goalkeepers that also includes Ciaran O’Loughlin and Ben Pierce – both of whom are tipped for big things.
Hilton is clearly a long-term signing but could be sped up to senior level sooner than expected. There will likely be a goalkeeping vacancy in Everton’s squad ahead of next season with veteran Tim Howard expected to move to the MLS – although the youngster could only realistically aim for becoming Roberto Martinez’ third choice.
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Meanwhile, The Daily Star report that Alexandre Pato is close to making his debut for Chelsea after arriving on loan from Corinthians during the January transfer window.
The 26-year-old hasn’t played a competitive fixture since the Brazilian season drew to a close in late November and manager Guus Hiddink revealed earlier this month that he’s been put on a special training regime to improve his fitness.
But according to The Daily Star, the Brazil forward has progressed well in training and could feature against Southampton in two weekends time – after Chelsea’s season-defining fixtures against PSG and Manchester City in the Champions League and FA Cup respectively.
As quoted by the British tabloid, Hiddink said; “I’m happy with his development. He played his last game on the 28th of November. Then they were on holiday ahead of the new season. So he’s in pre-season now. You need at least four to five weeks in pre-season to get him top fit. He’s not yet fully game fit, but he’s in the third week of preparations.
“I hope, after this weekend, he’ll be in shape where we can go with him.”