Ashley Preece of Birmingham Live says that Lovre Kalinic has an uncertain future at Aston Villa and could be on his way out when the winter transfer window opens. The 30-year-old has been short of playing time this season and finds himself below Emiliano Martinez, Jed Steer and Tom Heaton in the goalkeeping pecking order.
The two-metre tall Kalinic stands little chance of representing Croatia in next summer’s European Championships if he is not getting minutes at Villa, so Preece believes the ‘keeper will go in January. He wrote: ‘Lovre Kalinic could be one to depart for first-team football as he looks to stake a claim to make Croatia’s squad for the upcoming summer’s European Championships.’
Preece explained that the 30-year-old was going to leave Villa during the late stages of the summer transfer window, but he stayed on to provide cover for Tom Heaton, whose return from a cruciate ligament injury was well away at the time. Kalinic is yet to make an appearance in any competition this season and has only been an unused substitute on two occasions in the Carabao Cup (Transfermarkt).
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The Croatia international still has nearly three years left on his contract, but it’s unlikely he’ll see them out. Kalinic hasn’t made an appearance for Villa since February 2019, so he won’t be missed, especially with three other ‘keepers for Smith to call upon.
He hasn’t represented his country since November 2019, so a January move will be essential to get back in the national team if he wants to be in their Euro 2020 squad next summer.
In other news, Preece backs another Villa outcast to ‘stick around’ despite lack of game-time.
