BBC football gossip column says Aston Villa to make a 7m bid for Burnley’s unsettled goalkeeper Tom Heaton.
Since when has he been unsettled, and 7m is peanuts for such a highly rated goalkeeper.

Same story in the Sun according to Nixon on Twitter this morning

Think they've already tried this and been knocked back. For Tom you'd be looking at at least 10 million up front with add ons for survival.

One of our 3 has to leave and I guess we'll see who.

I imagine, should Tom go that Hart will be our number 1 again

ClaretAndJew wrote:Think they've already tried this and been knocked back. For Tom you'd be looking at at least 10 million up front with add ons for survival.

One of our 3 has to leave and I guess we'll see who.

I imagine, should Tom go that Hart will be our number 1 again

You'd be imagining wrong.

Heaton can go for me

He's the one I'd rather we keep.

Me thinks pope had been promised something in his last contract though so it looks like Heaton will be off.

IF Heaton goes then Pope has to be number 1.

I would think at the very least 1 would leave, I dont think Hart or Heatin want to compete for the number 1 shirt or be 2nd or 3rd choice.
They need game time at this stage of their careers.

I cant see any being happy on the bench, and i think it would have a detrimental effect on the group.
A fresh start required for both in my opinion, and we start again with the next clutch of GK with Pope the spearhead of that.

We need to keep them both incase something happens.

If we got lumbered with Hart for 3/4 of the season, we'd be relegated.

Pope and hart with hart being number 1 unless a bid comes in for hart also. Heatons gone for me which is why he rejected a deal

I’ll be astonished if Hart is our number one keeper next season, whatever the transfer permutations.

7million for a current England squad goalkeeper...is it April 1st in the Midlands?

Pope is a better keeper all round than Hart. Heaton has a year left and has refused thus far to sign a new deal. He is an England international is certainly worth more than 10 mill.

£10m for a keeper Burnley are getting rid of with only a year on his contract... How much DO you think we should be getting? £100m? Joe Hart came around 3-4 mil and he played a lot more England games than Heaton.

Perspective please!

Excellent another opportunity for more conjecture and speculation.

I'll start, we need to get rid of Hart because he's on £140k per week and City have stopped paying it.




Back on topic of Tom Heaton (see thread title), turned down contract offer, would be first choice at Villa with less competition so better chance of England squad. Look at it from business side of things, won't sign a contract so cash in now before he walks away next summer. Hart will probably go too so frees up wages / fees to bring in an experienced bench warmer.

tarkys_ears wrote:£10m for a keeper Burnley are getting rid of with only a year on his contract... How much DO you think we should be getting? £100m? Joe Hart came around 3-4 mil and he played a lot more England games than Heaton.

Perspective please!

Villa have just paid 26.5 million for Tyrone Mings! Sorry but 7 million for Heaton would be a joke as well as the fact we’d be selling to a rival in the same league.

NL Claret wrote: I'll start, we need to get rid of Hart because he's on £140k per week and City have stopped paying it.

He isn’t on anything near that. He had 12 months left on his City contract when we signed him, so if he hadn’t signed for us then he would be out of contract at City now. Last season, we paid Hart roughly £50k a week, with City making up the rest of his wages. Now he’s just getting paid what we pay him (around £50k a week).

[quote="NL Claret"]Excellent another opportunity for more conjecture and speculation.

I'll start, we need to get rid of Hart because he's on £140k per week and City have stopped paying it.




Burnley paying Hart £140k a week ......

Interesting that Villa are bidding for Heaton and not Hart who also has only one year left on his deal.

I wonder if it is starting as number one or money that is stalling Tom signing a new deal with us as, according to the article, there is an offer from our club on the table?

Steve1956 wrote:

Listen, a bloke in the Foundation Lounge pulled me and my mate to one side to tell us he was on £140k per week. It must be true, had it been the Brickmakers or the Miners I might not have been too sure.

BFC123 wrote:He isn’t on anything near that. He had 12 months left on his City contract when we signed him, so if he hadn’t signed for us then he would be out of contract at City now. Last season, we paid Hart roughly £50k a week, with City making up the rest of his wages. Now he’s just getting paid what we pay him (around £50k a week).

I did say conjecture at the start of the thread. how do you know much Hart is on? Where did you get that info? A better source than the foundation lounge?

NL Claret wrote:Listen, a bloke in the Foundation Lounge pulled me and my mate to one side to tell us he was on £140k per week. It must be true, had it been the Brickmakers or the Miners I might not have been too sure.

Ok sorry for doubting ya,Hart's on £140k a week,get rid quick!

theroyaldyche wrote:Heaton can go for me

He is critical to our team.

Why risk getting shut of him?

tybfc wrote:He is critical to our team.

Why risk getting shut of him?

But if we keep Heaton then Pope has to go.

We can't keep both.

Spijed wrote:But if we keep Heaton then Pope has to go.

We can't keep both.

What you reckon Dyche will do,I think he will have Pope no1 and both Heaton & Hart will leave.

Hart definitely needs to go.

tybfc wrote:He is critical to our team.

Why risk getting shut of him?

Its obvious or he would have committed to a new deal. Pope has signed a long term agreement with most likely the assurances he will form part of the 1st team in the coming seasons if not this season. If hart and pope remain i think he would choose hart to start though

I agree heaton is our best keeper. Hes replaceable by any of the 2 others though

LoveCurryPies wrote:Hart definitely needs to go.

None of Hart Heaton or Pope is going to play second fiddle this season, two of that three will leave I'm sure of that.

Steve1956 wrote:What you reckon Dyche will do,I think he will have Pope no1 and both Heaton & Hart will leave.

think this is the most likely..Hart won't want to be no2 to pope

Steve1956 wrote:None of Hart Heaton or Pope is going to play second fiddle this season, two of that three will leave I'm sure of that.

I am happy with Heaton and Pope. If Tom wants to move on, then I want to see Nick as number 1 goalie.

Hart is not good enough for a regular 1st team place I'm certain of that, but to have a fully fit Heaton and Pope is perhaps a luxury we have been fortunate to have had but obviously both won't be happy with that so a tricky situation really for lots of reasons.

Steve-Harpers-perm wrote:Villa have just paid 26.5 million for Tyrone Mings! Sorry but 7 million for Heaton would be a joke as well as the fact we’d be selling to a rival in the same league.

1) That's a ridiculous comparison.

2) We don't have to sell.

Why would Tom want to play for a team with Mings in front of him

LoveCurryPies wrote:I am happy with Heaton and Pope.

Me too. Problem is, neither of em are gonna be happy playing second fiddle for another season.
They're both going to want first team regular games and you can't blame them.
Seems one inevitably will have to sling his hook.

But seven mil for TH is an insult.

Heaton was brilliant when he came back in last year - arguably the best keeper in the league from Christmas and much better than Pickford.
I’m surprised he hasn’t signed a new contract as I thought he was really happy here but maybe he is still bitter at what happened at the start of the season.
If he does leave then so be it - he’s been the best / most important keeper we have had for many years and we got him on a free transfer. He’s been a real credit to himself and the club.
Very lucky for us we have Nick Pope who was equally brilliant for us in his first full season playing.
I don’t think any club can keep 2 keepers of this quality happy for long - due to injuries and regaining fitness etc we have managed it longer than most clubs.
Hart can definitely go for me - not because he’s done much wrong but because we could free up a lot of money in wages for another more important area of the pitch - like centre midfield.

ClaretLoup wrote:Interesting that Villa are bidding for Heaton and not Hart who also has only one year left on his deal.

I wonder if it is starting as number one or money that is stalling Tom signing a new deal with us as, according to the article, there is an offer from our club on the table?

It’s neither, it’s the length of the contract. We’ve only offered a one year extension, Tom wants three.

We should sell all three keepers IMO. It’s clear that it blows most Burnley fans’ minds having three very good goalkeepers.

Tom only has 1 year left on his contract, sell him while we can get something for him and let him play first team football for some other team, Pope is our number 1 and will be for many years

Choosing between Heaton and Pope is like choosing which kid is your favourite.

Hart is the unwanted 3rd child by the looks.of it.

SalisburyClaret wrote:Why would Tom want to play for a team with Mings in front of him

Villa have paid a hell of a lot of money for Mings I agree - but they did because he is still young and he was arguably their best player last season after he joined. Look at their defensive record after he joined compared to before.
Villa will pull in 40k fans every week and are a far far bigger team than Burnley.
Smith seems like a decent manager and Heaton would make a massive difference to Villa with his quality and experience.
From a financial view it would also be his biggest signing on fee by a mile (he’s never gone anywhere for big money) and his wages will be better than we could offer.
As much as i’d hate to lose him it’s actually a brilliant move for him.

Hart doesn't strike me as a Burnley type player. His partying and drinking excursions are widely documented. The other two seem more down to earth and a much better fit.

Whatever happens, one thing for sure is we need to deal with this ASAP. After last season, we can ill afford to go into the season chopping and changing keepers again. I trust Dyche already knows his number 1 - and what with Pope signing a new long term deal and the interest in Heaton you could be forgiven to assume Tom will be leaving. He has been a fantastic signing for us but you can understand where both parties are coming from (if indeed Dyche doesn't see him as #1). It's always going to be difficult to keep three quality keepers happy, especially for a club of our size without European football etc to offer a back up. Will be interesting to see if we keep Hart as back up or try to move him on - I would think he'll stay and leave next summer.

woody wrote:It’s neither, it’s the length of the contract. We’ve only offered a one year extension, Tom wants three.

If that is the case I get the logic from Tom's point of view but not the club's. Surely the latter would be able to ratchet the price tag up if they were to sell Tom with 3 years left to run than one?

TVC15 wrote:Villa have paid a hell of a lot of money for Mings I agree - but they did because he is still young and he was arguably their best player last season after he joined. Look at their defensive record after he joined compared to before.
Villa will pull in 40k fans every week and are a far far bigger team than Burnley.
Smith seems like a decent manager and Heaton would make a massive difference to Villa with his quality and experience.
From a financial view it would also be his biggest signing on fee by a mile (he’s never gone anywhere for big money) and his wages will be better than we could offer.
As much as i’d hate to lose him it’s actually a brilliant move for him.

All good points though I think Grealish’s return was pretty influential in their upturn in form. Depends on what Tom wants - if it’s big payday then fine. But the likelihood is that he’d be playing in the Championship next year with little chance of being involved in the England set-up

SalisburyClaret wrote:All good points though I think Grealish’s return was pretty influential in their upturn in form. Depends on what Tom wants - if it’s big payday then fine. But the likelihood is that he’d be playing in the Championship next year with little chance of being involved in the England set-up

I agree Grealish was brilliant but they were regularly losing games 4-3 and conceding loads.
As for playing in the Championship personally I think Villa will be fine next year and have just as good a chance as us of staying up.
I know Fulham went down spending a fortune but I think Villa have a far better manager.
Southgate is also happy to pick keepers from the Championship - he picked the Stoke keeper last season.

I think Villa will stay up, particularly if Tom's in the nets for em. Norwich and Blades might struggle, but for me,
Villa are best equipped of the three to keep their PL status.

SalisburyClaret wrote:All good points though I think Grealish’s return was pretty influential in their upturn in form. Depends on what Tom wants - if it’s big payday then fine. But the likelihood is that he’d be playing in the Championship next year with little chance of being involved in the England set-up

The bookies have us down as more likely to be relegated than Aston’s Villa.

TVC15 wrote:Southgate is also happy to pick keepers from the Championship - he picked the Stoke keeper last season.

I think Tom's best chance of continuing England honours is to stay put - for the simple reason that if he's at Burnley and keeping Pope out of the team he's a better chance of being one of the three England keepers.

If Butland gets a PL move (which has been rumoured) and Pope is starting for Burnley in Tom's absence - surely this diminishes Tom's England prospects? So any move is likely to be for ££££ reasons rather than harbouring hopes of continuing his England career - because if he decides to 'back himself' against other keepers for an England spot then this should translate to backing himself for the Burnley No.1 spot ahead of Pope...

Selby Claret wrote:I think Tom's best chance of continuing England honours is to stay put - for the simple reason that if he's at Burnley and keeping Pope out of the team he's a better chance of being one of the three England keepers.

If Butland gets a PL move (which has been rumoured) and Pope is starting for Burnley in Tom's absence - surely this diminishes Tom's England prospects? So any move is likely to be for ££££ reasons rather than harbouring hopes of continuing his England career - because if he decides to 'back himself' against other keepers for an England spot then this should translate to backing himself for the Burnley No.1 spot ahead of Pope...

This reflects my thoughts on the issue, we're better off with Heaton as No 1 for now, and Pope as backup. Pope signing long term means that he knows the No 1 is his soon enough (either this season if Heaton doesn't perform or gets injured) and he'll keep it for years to come.

If Tom wants to leave, he can go at the end of this season on a free with my blessing, but that's not my decision to make. I'd be happy with him staying too, but again that's not my decision.

Hart can go for free as far as I'm concerned...

Selby Claret wrote:I think Tom's best chance of continuing England honours is to stay put - for the simple reason that if he's at Burnley and keeping Pope out of the team he's a better chance of being one of the three England keepers.

If Butland gets a PL move (which has been rumoured) and Pope is starting for Burnley in Tom's absence - surely this diminishes Tom's England prospects? So any move is likely to be for ££££ reasons rather than harbouring hopes of continuing his England career - because if he decides to 'back himself' against other keepers for an England spot then this should translate to backing himself for the Burnley No.1 spot ahead of Pope...

Yep that’s one theory !!
Another simpler theory is that he goes to Villa and plays just as well as has done for Burnley and Southgate has no reason to drop him. Butland and Pope both behind him currently.
So what if money is one of the reasons or even the main reason he is going. Personally I doubt very much whether it’s the only reason - Villa have great potential. He also loves playing for England and I don’t think he would be moving if he thought it harmed his chances of playing - and I can’t see at all how it would