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Aston Villa: Gregg Evans drops claim on Tom Heaton’s future

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Image for Aston Villa: Gregg Evans drops claim on Tom Heaton’s future

Aston Villa journalist Gregg Evans has been sharing his thoughts on Villa goalkeeper Tom Heaton, his current situation at the club and what the future could hold for him with the summer transfer window on the horizon. 

This comes after Evans recently made an appearance on the latest episode of The Athletic’s Villa-themed podcast 1874, where he discussed a variety of topics concerning Dean Smith’s side.

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First up in this Gareth Barry quiz, which club did Villa sign the midfielder from?

On the subject of Heaton and whether or not he would be okay with being Villa’s second-choice goalkeeper behind Emiliano Martinez for the foreseeable future at Villa Park, Evans had this to say on the matter.

He said: “Tom Heaton certainly wants to play and it will feel probably like a little bit of a missed opportunity for him this season because with [Jordan] Pickford’s injury of late, if he was playing [regularly], he might have been the man that was called up and played for England in some of these games and then potentially even given Gareth Southgate a selection headache going into the Euros.

“[It’s] been a disappointing 15 months for Heaton, majority of that been out injured, such a lovely guy and a very good goalkeeper, so I personally hope he gets sorted, whether he moves on this season or decides that he’s happy to stay as No 2 – I think he’ll want to move.”

Villa signed Heaton back in the 2019 summer transfer window from fellow Premier League side Burnley for a fee of £7.92 million.

Since then, the 34-year-old, who is currently valued at £1.62 million, has made just 20 appearances for Villa due to the fact that he suffered a serious knee injury back in January last year.

Despite not making an appearance for the senior Villa side this season, Heaton has made four appearances for Villa’s U23 side (per Transfermarkt).

TIF Thoughts on Gregg Evans’ comments on Heaton and his future with Villa…

Taking into account how well Martinez has done in goal for Villa this season, earning himself an overall performance rating of 7.01/10 so far in this campaign (as per WhoScored) having kept 14 clean sheets this season – with only Manchester City’s Ederson keeping more – it’s easy to see why Heaton could have a challenge on his hands to get back into Smith’s side when he fully regains his fitness.

Would you be disappointed if Tom Heaton left Villa this summer?

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Yes

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With Heaton’s current contract set to expire in the summer of 2023, it seems that he should make a decision this summer as to whether or not he would want to continue at Villa and fight for his place or move somewhere else where he can be the first-choice shot-stopper.

In other news: ‘To be honest’ – Ashley Preece drops exciting claim on AVFC’s summer transfer plans

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