An Optimist's Transfer Wishlist: Goalkeepers

Tom Heaton - (Burnley)

We already know that Sherwood has an obvious affinity for English players, and recently-relegated Burnley's Tom Heaton fits his criteria unassailably. Heaton stands at 188 cm, or 6 foot 2, and started all of Burnley's Premier League games last year. He was both reliable and consistent, remaining relatively mistake free and showing the capability to pull of a spectacular save. His market value sits at 2.5 million pounds, but Burnley's relegation coupled with his England call up impact his value in opposite ways - relegation making him more available for Premier League clubs, but his England call up augmenting his value the way it does for anyone player. Heaton is already comfortable playing in claret, and for anything under 4 million pounds, I would be more than happy to see him at Villa park.

Kasper Schmeichel - (Leicester)

In many ways, seeing Leicester relegated instead of Hull or QPR this year would have done a lot of good for Villa. It has already been made clear that Sherwood is interested in Leicester's Jamie Vardy and Jeffrey Schlupp, and Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel should be another fox Sherwood targets. Schmeichel has impeccable goalkeeper bloodlines being the son of Peter Schmeichel, and has been with Leicester since July 2011. He performed admirably in Leicester's Premier League campaign this year, his displays and leadership going a long way to inspiring Leicester's great escape. He stands at 185 cm, and is priced higher than Heaton, at 3.5 million pounds according to transfermarkt.com. He is older than he appears at 28, but because he still has his best years ahead of him coupled with his proven Premier League track record, I would be satisfied if Sherwood were able to woo him away from Leciester for anything less than 5 million pounds.

Timo Horn - (FC Köln)

Of all the goalkeepers mentioned, Horn is the most exotic, and the most intriguing. Being only 22 years old, his prowess in the Bundesliga is already something to be marveled - he appeared 33 times this season for FC Köln in Germany's top flight, and kept 13 clean sheets. He has already been linked with a move to Villa Park, making the possibility of Horn all the more compelling. He commands the area between the sticks at 192 cm, and is already drawing many suitors internationally. He has the highest asking price of any of the keepers previously mentioned at 5 million pounds, due to his area for growth and proven displays in the Bundesliga. While he clearly has the most untapped potential of any keeper linked to Villa, I wouldn't want to see Tim break the bank for a keeper completely unproven in the Premier League and at the senior level internationally (granted, no goalkeeper in the world would beat Manuel Neuer to his post as Germany number one). For anything under 5 million pounds, I would be happy with either Schmeichel or Horn, but the affordability of Heaton may ultimately make him the best option.

Who would you like to see Sherwood pursue in goal, or do you think Villa's current goalkeeper corps doesn't need major remodeling? Let us know!