Bristol City have identified Manchester United goalkeeper Radek Vitek as their top transfer target, but Coventry City have now entered the race for his signature.
Bristol City and Coventry set to battle it out for Vitek
According to a report from Sports Boom, signing Vitek is Bristol City’s number one priority in the summer transfer window, off the back of a successful spell on loan at Ashton Gate from Man United.
The Robins, who are currently without a permanent manager, are determined to get a deal over the line, but there is set to be competition from Championship winners Coventry, who are now ready to pounce.
The Sky Blues also relied on a loanee goalkeeper throughout the campaign, namely Carl Rushworth, who featured in all 46 Championship games after arriving from Brighton & Hove Albion.
However, it could be difficult to tempt Brighton into a permanent sale, given that the 24-year-old excelled on loan at the CBS Arena, winning Coventry’s fans Player of the Season, Players’ Player of the Season and the Young Player of the Season award.
As such, Frank Lampard’s side are now keeping close tabs on Vitek, who also put in some solid performances for Bristol City, despite his side being unable to mount a play-off push.
Radek Vitek
The Czech goalkeeper was described as “something special” by reporter Dan Carter back in January, and he ranked joint-fourth in terms of clean sheets in the Championship, despite missing five of the 46 matches.
Ranking
Championship goalkeeper
Club
Clean sheets
1
Carl Rushworth
Coventry City
17
2
Christian Walton
Ipswich Town
16
3
Solomon Brynn
Middlesbrough
13
4
Radek Vitek
Bristol City
12
4
Lawrence Vigouroux
Swansea City
12
Radek Vitek’s Championship season
- 3,690 minutes played
- 134 saves
- 71.3% save percentage
- 5.36 goals prevented
- 46 high claims
- 802 successful passes
Carl Rushworth
Lampard hailed Rushworth after the Brighton loanee kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory against Bristol City in December, saying: “The save at the end was fantastic – he (Rushworth) is showing himself to be a really high-level goalkeeper for us.
“He’s a top keeper, he trains brilliantly, he’s low maintenance and I think he’s enjoying it here and I enjoyed him today.”
Carl Rushworth’s Championship season
- 4,140 minutes played
- 123 saves
- 73.2% save percentage
- 6.72 goals prevented
- 43 high claims
- 1,152 successful passes
As shown, Vitek has performed fairly similarly to the Coventry star across a range of key statistics for goalkeepers, which indicates he could be a solid alternative, but signing Rushworth permanently should be the top priority, as he is already proven at the CBS Arena.
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