Everton is looking for a goalkeeper, Mucha likely to leave

Everton is reportedly looking for a replacement for the Slovak goalkeeper and will try to sell him in the winter. If Everton does not sell Ján Mucha in the winter, the Slovak may leave for free in the summer.

Probably the best Slovak goalkeeper in the history of independence, Ján Mucha, is, according to English media, up for sale. Everton manager David Moyes confirmed that he is looking for competition for the team’s number one – Tim Howard. The club recently tested Polish goalkeeper Boruc, and now they are said to have targeted a new backup goalkeeper – Craig Gordon. “We need to increase competition in the squad, and that includes the goalkeeper position,” admitted Moyes. From this, it follows that Mucha could already leave the club in the winter.

Loan move is unrealistic
“This winter transfer window is Everton’s last chance to get a fee for Ján. After the season, his contract expires, and he can leave as a free agent. A loan is not an option; the only possibility is a permanent transfer, for which they would receive money,” said Mucha’s agent Jozef Tokos. After the 2010 World Cup, Mucha moved from Legia Warsaw to Everton as a free agent.

He has not yet played a single match in the Premier League. He only got chances in a few cup ties. This season, he has played just one cup game. That was also one of the reasons why Mucha temporarily ended his international career – even though he was the number one choice for coaches Griga and Hipp. He found the public pressure difficult to handle and declared he would only return to the national team once he had regular match practice. “I believe that in the near future, there will be positive news also for Slovak football. If Everton lets him go, we want him to join a club where he will play regularly,” said Tokos. Howard is the undisputed number one at Everton – in two and a half years, he has not been injured or sent off and has not missed a single league match.

Before Mucha, John Ruddy was the number two at Everton, but in three years, he played only 81 minutes in the league for the Liverpool club. In the summer of 2010, he transferred to Norwich City, where he rose to the elite level in the Premier League and debuted for the England national team this year. “If Ruddy had stayed at Everton, he probably would have been sitting on the bench. Sometimes you have to change clubs. Today, he is an excellent goalkeeper,” said Norwich coach Chris Hughton. Mucha is in a complicated situation at Everton. Unlike the Slovak, Ruddy was allowed to go out on loan to various clubs.

He chose the harder path
“Mucha wants to play regularly in a league that suits his level, but as long as he has a contract, he is not in control of his situation. Everton refused to let him go out on loan because they needed a backup goalkeeper of sufficient quality. They also did not agree to an early termination of his contract,” explained Tokos. Mucha also began as a backup in his previous clubs: Inter, Žilina, Legia (where he sat on the bench for two years between 2005 and 2007), and the national team. And every time, he eventually fought his way to the number one spot. But with Howard, this seems unrealistic. “Mucha could have gone to Turkey, where he would have been the clear number one and would have earned a higher salary. But he chose a harder path in his career. And he is fighting for his place.”