Report: Liverpool to rival Aston Villa for Burnley star Tom Heaton

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Liverpool are set to rival Aston Villa to sign Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton, according to a report in the Daily Mail.

The 33-year-old is the club captain at Turf Moor but has just a year left on his current contract.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is on the lookout for a new stopper to act as an understudy to Alisson Becker, who was a revelation last season.

Sean Dyche has Nick Pope and Joe Hart already on his books and it seems almost certain that at least one will depart this summer.

Heaton has played 200 times for the Clarets, helping the club to promotion twice.

According to The Sun, Heaton was subject to a £7 million bid from Aston Villa earlier in the summer, although it was rejected by the Clarets.

A move to Liverpool would perhaps be more appealing. Although he won’t play much, it could represent one last chance to win major silverware before the end of his career.

TBR Verdict

Liverpool signing Heaton would represent a decent piece of business from boss Klopp.

The £42,000-a-week performer (Spotrac) is a safe pair of hands and boasts three England caps to his name.

Simon Mignolet is the current understudy to Alisson and it is a reasonable suggestion that Heaton would represent an upgrade on the Belgian.

The 33-year-old played 19 times for the Clarets last season after missing the first half of the campaign with injury.

His return to the fold ignited an upturn in fortunes which saw Burnley comfortably stay in the Premier League.

Klopp could certainly do a lot worse than Heaton and should anything happen to Alisson, he would have a reserve stopper who he could trust massively.