Why Watford should make a move for Robin Olsen in January

According to a report from Football Italia, Montpellier were in talks with AS Roma to sign goalkeeper Robin Olsen on loan but they have passed upon him and opted to sign Real Sociedad goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.

Robin Olsen, 29, endured a poor debut campaign at AS Roma, with the Serie A club signing him as a replacement for Alisson Becker from FC Copenhagen last summer. His string of poor performances in the second half of last campaign saw him lose his place to veteran goalkeeper Antonio Mirante.

The Sweden no.1 has fallen further down the pecking order after Roma purchased Pau Lopez from Real Betis earlier this summer. Unless Roma can find a taker for Olsen in the last days of the summer transfer window, the Serie A club will be headed into this new season with four goalkeepers.

Should that happen, Watford, who were interested in signing Olsen during the English summer transfer, must reignite their interest and sign him in January.

Watford have an experienced but ageing backline which includes Ben Foster, who is 36. Foster’s deputy is Heurelho Gomes, who is 38 and signed a one-year contract extension with the club after having initially decided to leave. Pontus Dahlberg is 20-years-old and has barely made an impact, while Daniel Bachmann spent the last season on loan at Kilmarnock.

Javi Gracia may be happy with his pool of goalkeepers but the matter of fact is both Foster and Gomes are in the final stages of his career and their departure suddenly would leave big boots to fill in.

Dahlberg is very young and would be a big risk to rely on him. Bachman could be a good shout to replace the ageing Foster but the Hornets certainly can do a great job by adding someone more experienced, and that man is Robin Olsen.

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Olsen may have had a tough time in Serie A but he is a really solid goalkeeper with good distribution skills and shot-stopping ability. He is more than capable enough to replace Foster as Watford’s no.1 with Bachmann an ideal backup.

The Swede’s stay would give Bachmann and Dahlberg to get themselves ready for a first-team role in the future.

Verdict

Foster has been one of the Premier League’s best goalkeepers in the last couple of seasons but the time is ripe for Gracia to replace the former England international with Olsen, whose experience, international pedigree and ability could make a huge difference at Vicarage Road.