Joe Hart v Willy Caballero – The Goalkeeping Battle

Much of Manchester City’s transfer dealings over the course of this summer have been about adding quality in depth to the squad. The first-choice starting eleven, perhaps with the exception of Eliaquim Mangala, has not changed a great deal. Rather, Txiki Begiristain and Manuel Pellegrini were quick to identify weaknesses in the squad and then even quicker to strengthen them. As such, Bacary Sagna was drafted in to provide some much-needed cover for Pablo Zabaleta, Fernando plugged a gaping hole at the base of midfield and Willy Caballero arrived from Malaga to challenge for the goalkeeping berth. It is that last deal which is perhaps the most intriguing.

At the age of 32 and with Champions League experience at his former club, Caballero has not joined City with the ambition of carving out a permanent seat on the bench. He is used to playing, having starred for his former club and attracted widespread praise for his consistency. Many have suggested he has moved to England to secure a better financial future, but while it is easy to profess the right sentiment in public and he has, naturally, stated his ambition to compete with Hart for the gloves, you get the impression that he means what he says. He is not just here to make up the numbers.

Hart will know he faces a battle. A few seasons ago, the England number one fought off competition from Shay Given to be selected as the last line of defence and he has now seen off the limited threat of Costel Pantilimon. The giant Romanian moved on to Sunderland over the summer having failed to dislodge Hart, save for a brief spell during the last campaign. Pantilimon was a competent shot-stopper and adept, as he should have been, at plucking crosses out of the air, but he never radiated total security and thus featured predominantly in the lesser cup competitions. Caballero, I feel, will do more than that.

He obviously knows Pellegrini from their time together in Spain and as we saw with Martin Demichelis last season, the manager is not afraid to place his trust in those with whom he has previously worked. He threw Demichelis into action as soon as he was fit and despite criticism from all quarters, persisted with the Argentine. His faith was justified by the end of the season. Hart, who has recently moved from wearing Umbro to Nike gloves, will be aware that he needs to start strongly and maintain his high standards.

He was given the nod to take to the field against Newcastle at the weekend and he’ll remain in place for the visit of Liverpool next Monday, but this goalkeeping battle is not as one-sided as that between Hart and Pantilimon. Should the Englishman make a couple of errors – and he has allowed some weaknesses to develop in his game over the past couple of seasons – then it may not be long before Pellegrini introduces Caballero into the action. The former Malaga man prefers HO Soccer gloves and while he will be frustrated to begin the campaign in merely a supporting role, with the quantity of fixtures City face in four competitions, he’ll undoubtedly get his chance at some point.

As he has stated on a number of occasions, Pellegrini has a squad with two top quality players in every position. Due to the heavy number of matches, there will be plenty of rotation and in the goalkeeping department, it will be no different. The battle is underway.

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