"Rodgers lines up swoop for highly-rated Fulham stopper
SWANSEA City have targeted England squad goalkeeper David Stockdale as the replacement for Dorus de Vries.
And the Evening Post understands Brendan Rodgers hopes to tie up a deal for the 25-year-old before his players return for pre-season training next week.
Landing a first-choice keeper is Swansea's top priority after de Vries turned down the offer of a new deal at the Liberty in favour a move to Wolves.
And Rodgers, who is also believed to have inquired about Tottenham's Carlo Cudicini, is hopeful he has found the right man in the highly-rated Stockdale.
The 6ft 3in stopper made ten appearances for Fulham last season and won plaudits for his performances.
He saved a Nani penalty in a 2-2 draw against Manchester United last August, and managed clean sheets in half the games he played last term.
Stockdale's impressive showings caught the attention of Fabio Capello. He was set to be named in the England squad early last season only to miss out through injury, but his first call-up eventually came for the friendly against Denmark in February.
He was also included in the party for England's Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland in May but was absent for that game as he was getting married.
A former York City youngster, Stockdale's form at Darlington saw him move to Fulham in a £600,000 deal three years ago.
He has since had loan spells at Rotherham, Leicester and Plymouth, and new Fulham boss Martin Jol suggested last week that Stockdale will be sent out on loan again this season.
Swansea could sign him on a temporary basis, though it is understood Rodgers would ideally like to buy the Leeds-born player. The Swansea manager reckons Stockdale will suit his team as they take on the Premier League.
And he could be prepared to pay as much as £3 million to bring him to Wales."
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/story-12882956-detail/story.html (http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/story-12882956-detail/story.html)
I really hope Jol is true to his word and would only consider sending Stockdale out on loan. If that's the case then Swansea makes the perfect fit as he'd be guaranteed first choice.
This winds me up..I can't understand why we aren't interested in replacing Schwarzer with Stockdale. Stockdale has proved himself worthy to wear #1 on his back on more than one occasion. I would like to see Schwarzer retained as player/keeping coach for us if possible.
Yes ... As a newly promoted team he can expect to see plenty of action as an lonee.
Solid recall agreement and clause making sure he can't play against us and it's an all around winner.
No no to sale though.
Quote from: KiwiFulham on July 05, 2011, 08:09:46 AM
This winds me up..I can't understand why we aren't interested in replacing Schwarzer with Stockdale. Stockdale has proved himself worthy to wear #1 on his back on more than one occasion. I would like to see Schwarzer retained as player/keeping coach for us if possible.
Mark is just too good and too experienced to cast aside.
However if he throws anymore in like the third against Liverpool it just may be a very brief loan deal.
IF Swansea take him on loan they're bound to insist on no recall. They can't take a chance on losing their first choice keeper outside a transfer window.
That's why we'd need to have a decent replacement for Stockdale as our number two.
Next season if Stockdale's done well enough with Swansea then he'd be nailed on as Schwarzer's replacement.
For me Stockdale's done well but I don't understand how anyone can be confident on the basis of what we've seen that he's definitely a top quality Prem class keeper. Which Schwarzer clearly still is.
Quote from: TonyGilroy on July 05, 2011, 08:21:54 AM
IF Swansea take him on loan they're bound to insist on no recall. They can't take a chance on losing their first choice keeper outside a transfer window.
That's why we'd need to have a decent replacement for Stockdale as our number two.
Exactly. If Stockdale gets loaned out to the likes of Swansea, he's away for the whole season. There's no way a PL team would be alright with the fact that their first choice keeper could be taken away from them at anytime. There's simply to many other alternatives out there for that to be realistic.
Quote from: TonyGilroy on July 05, 2011, 08:21:54 AM
IF Swansea take him on loan they're bound to insist on no recall. They can't take a chance on losing their first choice keeper outside a transfer window.
That's why we'd need to have a decent replacement for Stockdale as our number two.
Next season if Stockdale's done well enough with Swansea then he'd be nailed on as Schwarzer's replacement.
For me Stockdale's done well but I don't understand how anyone can be confident on the basis of what we've seen that he's definitely a top quality Prem class keeper. Which Schwarzer clearly still is.
Exactly, Stockdale has done well in glimpses but consistency is the key, so why not see if he can do it over a whole season?
called stockdale to swansea a month ago :dft003:
This is the perfect scenario for me as long as we don't agree to a sale. We've seen him play around 10 games in the premier league and he's done well for the most part but this give us and him the opportunity to see if he can do it week in, week out. Swansea's defence won't be as good as ours so he'll be under more pressure consistantly and the opportunity to shine.
It worked very well for Ben Foster and Joe Hart when they want to Birmingham and it's only fair that Stockdale gets proper playing time regularly this season.
Mark is near the end of his careers and pardon the pun, but he's still a safe pair of hands and hopefully if Stockdale does well this season, the no. 1 spot can be his.
The other good news is, if we loan Stockdale to Swansea, he will not be allowed to play against us, so we would play their reserve keeper :dft012:
I think this is probably quite an attractive option for Stockdale in terms of his England aspirations and career overall. The papers have rather mocked his recent call-ups because he is Fulham's reserve keeper and had only played 10 games or so. This way he makes it easier for Capello to pick him and to make a case to Jol for the No.1 slot.
If he does go on loan, can we get the Runavik goalkeeper to come over? He'll probably cost about twenty quid and he was bloody good.
1 year loan best for all concenered in my opinon