Arsenal have seen a bid for Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer rejected and the Gunners could now switch their focus to Handanovic as an alternative, with the player seen as a long-term option for the club as he is only 25-years-old.
I hadn't heard about the Schwarzer bid being rejected, but it makes sense. Fulham are reliant on Schwarzer and they won't want to let him go, even if £3.5million is good money to get for a keeper.As for Handanovic... well, I'm not so sure about that. For one, do you want a keeper with "hand" in his name? The bad puns are already being written.
More importantly, I don't think I'll ever be able to get the image of him ducking out of the way of Landon Donovan's goal in the Slovenia/USA group play match. He came across as an intimidated keeper who reacted (poorly sometimes) to things around him rather then "bossing his area" as the cliche goes.
I think there were other keepers who distinguished themselves in South Africa. Certainly Eduardo, with one goal allowed in four matches, comes to mind. But he just signed for Genoa --who finished mid-table in Serie A last season and out of the European places! Is this another case where Wenger was too slow in pulling the trigger for a keeper? I think he should have signed Begovic last January but instead Stoke signed him for £3.25million. And now Eduardo goes to Genoa for just £4million?
What about Diego Benaglio of Wolfsburg and Switzerland? He won the Bundesliga in 08/09, but the vultures are circling over Wolfsburg's better players like Edin Dzeko (to Manchester City?). Would the club like to double their £2million investment in Benaglio?
Are there other good, young keepers that you think Wenger should buy? Sound off in the comments.
Video of the Slovenia/USA goals after the jump.
