For so long, Vicente Guaita has been Crystal Palace’s first-choice goalkeeper. He has been dependable, consistently impressive and adored by the supporters.
But maybe not for much longer.
Guaita’s social media accounts carried a post that read “VG13!! Ready” last week, but he was not included in the travelling squad for Palace’s pre-season tour of the United States and, not long after signing a new one-year deal at the club, his future appears in considerable doubt.
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The 36-year-old lost his first-team place to Sam Johnstone at the end of last season — he had initially been displaced after suffering a calf injury, but failed to dislodge Johnstone once fit again — and, more recently, has been strongly linked in his native Spain with a return to Getafe, who he played for from 2014 until joining Palace five years ago.
Guaita, who was also absent from the squad for the 2-0 home victory over Lyon on Saturday in the club’s final pre-season friendly, would be keen to leave in search of regular game time back in his homeland if he is not going to be first choice at Selhurst Park in the season ahead.
Given Guaita’s continued absence, it seems almost certain that Johnstone will be first-choice ’keeper when the season begins away to promoted Sheffield United on Saturday.
Johnstone had seized his opportunity under Roy Hodgson and performed more than capably in those final nine games of last season, a few jitters at set pieces aside. Palace won four of them, keeping three clean sheets in the process, to move safely into mid-table, with their goalkeeper duly earning a recall to the England squad for their European Championship qualifiers in June.
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Nobody at Palace will be concerned at the prospect of the 30-year-old starting 2023-24 as their No 1 — he had been earmarked as a long-term successor for Guaita when he arrived last summer on a free transfer after his contract at Championship side West Bromwich Albion expired.
But with Jack Butland loaned to Manchester United in January this year and subsequently departing to Rangers in the Scottish Premiership when his deal ran out, and Johnstone not immune to his own injury problems (he suffered a thigh complaint, a broken bone in his back and a calf issue last term), the club suddenly would look more vulnerable in the goalkeeping positions if Guaita leaves ahead of the new campaign.
Remi Matthews, 29, has returned from a season on loan to St Johnstone in the Scottish top flight — he played 34 games, his most ever in a senior league campaign — with a view to resuming duties as third-choice, but, if Guaita goes, it will cause more disruption to Palace’s already complicated summer. There is no question having to strengthen their options in goal is something they could do without in the final 26 days of the window, given there are other areas of the squad which desperately need attention, and relatively limited funds available.
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There is also the question of what kind of goalkeeper they would look to sign.
If Johnstone is to be first-choice, whoever comes in would have to accept a place below him in the pecking order. Palace, though, would need to be sufficiently convinced that, if their No 1 is ever unavailable, his deputy does not represent a significant drop in standard. In short, they would be shopping in quite a tight and challenging market.
Palace have two talented young goalkeepers on their books already.
One, Joe Whitworth, was forced to step up to the first team last season when Guaita and Johnstone were both out injured: he performed well in what proved to be Patrick Vieira’s final game as manager, a 1-0 defeat at Brighton on March 15, and was largely blameless in a 4-1 loss at Arsenal a few days later.
Whitworth, 19, is a talented shot-stopper but his relative lack of height for the position at 6ft (183cm) may be held against him. His game is more suited to a higher level or potentially a foreign league, but as yet no loan move for this season has been agreed. He would also benefit from a year playing regularly in senior football.
His long-time regular competition for games at international age-group level, Brighton’s James Beadle, spent the second half of last season at Crewe Alexandra, playing nine times in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Beadle is now on loan to League One’s Oxford United and started their season opener on Saturday.
Whitworth, who became the Premier League’s youngest goalkeeper since Ben Alnwick of Sunderland in December 2005 when he made that debut last season, would surely be eager for more senior football himself. Remaining at Palace as their No 3 goalkeeper would only stall his development for another year.
His team-mate Owen Goodman, also 19, has already secured a loan move and will spend this season with Colchester United in League Two. Colchester’s season opener against Swindon Town on Saturday was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch, but the expectation is that Goodman will be their first-choice goalkeeper under former Palace coach Ben Garner, although that, inevitably, will depend on his performances.
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There is no reason to doubt his ability in that regard. He is viewed as having significant potential by his parent club and his height is a significant boon. At 6ft 3in (193cm) and broadly built, Goodman is already physically imposing despite his young age and that is very much in his favour. He is adept in the technical areas of the game, too.
Both these young goalkeepers are extremely well-regarded, which is encouraging for Palace in the mid-to-long term. Breaking through in that position is more challenging for a young player than any other, but these two have genuine potential. But as promising as that may be, it is not a solution for Hodgson in the short term.
VG13!! Ready 🧤⚽️🧤 pic.twitter.com/UVlJUm4MOe
— Guaita (@vguaita13) July 20, 2023
That Palace have gone from a position of strength — with three excellent options to be their No 1 goalkeeper in Guaita, Johnstone and Butland, also an England international — to one of potential weakness if the Spaniard departs during the current transfer window is a looming headache for the club.
In a summer where uncertainty has reigned supreme, it is one that they would have to cure quickly.
(Top photo: Tom Dulat/Getty Images)
