The Tigers
summer recruitment finally kicked off in July with two new goalkeepers arriving
at the KC Stadium. News broke on Friday 6th July that Manchester
United’s Ben Amos had agreed to a season-long loan deal and would join the
players’ training camp in Portugal.
However as Amos will be joining Manchester United on their pre-season tour of
South Africa before completing the deal, Steve Bruce’s first official signing
came today and came out of the blue.
The six
foot, four inch Swiss international goalkeeper Eldin Jakupović joined the
Tigers on trial for a week in March 2012 as Nick Barmby cast an eye over him
with a view to a free transfer move this summer. Barmby’s well documented departure appeared to have put paid to any move for Jakupović.
When I wrote about City’s potential transfer targets last week, I
didn’t include the Swiss because the rumours had long since died off and he was
spending time on trial at Ipswich
Town. However the news of
this trial obviously provoked City into action with Steve Bruce calling on the
clubs scouting team to stop messing around Football Manager and dust off their
dossier on Kozarac’s number one. Goalkeeping coach Gary Walsh, the sole survivor from the management cull, will have had some input too. Jakupović signed a two-year deal with City on 9th
July and joined up with the squad in Portugal immediately.
Jakupović
is well-travelled. He was born in Bosnia
(then Yugoslavia)
but has dual Swiss nationality. He represented both countries at U21 level but
opted for Switzerland.
He went to Euro 2008 as back-up goalkeeper and won his only cap in a friendly
against Cyprus.
England will be his fourth
port of call at club level having played in Switzerland
for Grasshopper (twice) and Thun, in Russia
for Lokomotiv Moscow and in Greece
for Olympiakos and Aris Salonika.
Amos is an
England U21 international who also has caps at all youth levels from 16-20. He
is highly regarded at Old Trafford and made his Premier League debut against Stoke City
last season after spending time on loan at Molde, Oldham Athletic and
Peterborough United. He has been linked with Ipswich Town
who appear to have the same list of goalkeeping targets as the Tigers. We’ve
beaten them to Amos and Jakupović while Tomasz Kuszczak turned down both clubs
to join Brighton & Hove Albion.
The
signings will please some of the Tigers fans who were getting a little nervous
that for a second summer in succession the only goalkeeper on the books heading
into pre-season was Mark Oxley who is yet to make a first team appearance. To
continue the déjà vu, despite being linked with a big money move for ex-loanee
Vito Mannone, we’ve once again ended up with a loan ranger and a free agent as
back-up. Last season it was Peter Gulacsi who joined from Liverpool
hoping to get a season of first team football under his belt. He didn’t last
half a dozen games in the first team and only stayed for most of the season
because Liverpool refused to have him back.
Amos looks a better prospect. He’s rated enough at Manchester United that he
was preferred to Tomasz Kuszczak last season and was kept on as reserve
goalkeeper when Kuszczak was allowed to join Watford.
Apart from his single appearance in the top flight he has played little
football at the top level so it’s going to be a big test for him to step up to
the first team with a side that wants to challenge for promotion.
Jakupović
will also hope to enjoy a more successful City career than Adriano Basso did
last season. Brought in as an old head to help Gulacsi, Basso found himself as
first choice after the Hungarian failed to impress. He did a fine job too
before a persistent knee injury all but ended his season and probably his
career. Jakupović is a good age for a goalkeeper at 27 and has good experience
behind him. He’s been good enough to play at a good level in Europe, be
involved in the Switzerland squad and has been linked with a move to Spurs on a
couple of occasions. I’d imagine that Amos will be coming in on the proviso
that he plays first team football but as we saw with Gulacsi last season, there
are no guarantees that it will pan out that way. Jakupović should provide a
good challenge for the #1 shirt.
These moves
probably end the Tigers interest in Vito Mannone. Steve Bruce said last week
that he’d be speaking to Arsenal about Mannone this week. One can only presume
that City found the asking price for Mannone prohibitive and decided to explore
new avenues. While it be nice to have a settled and long-term goalkeeper in
place, it’s also understandable that the club would not want to spend upwards
of half a million pounds on a goalkeeper when they feel there is value elsewhere.
This is especially true if, as is rumoured, Mannone is going to be out of
contract in a year’s time. Some will suggest the club have taken the cheap
option which is probably true but something I support. Football transfers
always have risk involved and there are no guarantees regardless of how much is
spent. We should know. We spent two seasons in the top flight relying one two
goalkeepers who cost a combined fee of £75,000.
And it has
been said that Eldin Jakupović is the Bosnian Boaz Myhill. But only by me just
then!
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